In The Days Ahead
by YouHadMeAtHelloxo
Summary: 3rd in the trilogy starting with Ready For Tomorrow and Still Going Strong! The kids are older, and life is crazier than ever. Please, please RR!
1. A Typical Morning

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own 7th Heaven, or anything pertaining to the WB.  
  
A/N: Ahh, here I am again, embarking now on the writing of my 13th story. This is the 3rd story in my trilogy, so if you haven't read "Ready For Tomorrow" and "Still Going Strong" prior to this, I advise you to do so. You can see Ready For Tomorrow at and Still Going Strong at . Enjoy!  
  
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In Days Ahead  
  
Chapter One  
  
Part One: The prologue  
  
A few years have passed since Still Going Strong took place.  
  
Sarah and Matt Camden: Emily is now 16, Sean 12, Chloe is 8, and Jack is 5,. Matt is still an OB/GYN, and Sarah still stays at home with the kids. At School, Emily is a junior at Kiva High School, Sean is a 7th grader at Sage Middle School, Chloe is a 4th grader at Jennings, and Jack is a 1st grader. They moved into a bigger house when Jack was 2.  
  
Mary and Carlos: Their Son, Kyle, is 4. Carlos is still a fire fighter, and Mary works at Jennings again. She quit after Kyle was born, but now that he is a preschooler there, she was begun to work again, at the same school her son attends.  
  
Lucy and Kevin: Will, Luke, and Maddy are 8, Liv is 4 and a half. Kevin is still a police officer, and Lucy stays at home with the kids. The triplets are in 4th grade at Jennings, and Liv is in preschool at the same school as her older siblings.  
  
Simon and Cecilia: Simon is still a lawyer, and Cecilia a stay at home mother. Rachel is 13, Ethan is 9, and Charlie is 6. Rachel is an 8th grader at Sage Middle School, Ethan is a 5th grader at Jennings, and Charlie is a 1st grader at Jennings.  
  
Peter and Ruthie: Natalie is 6, and their 2nd child, Amy, is 5. Peter and Ruthie still work up at Jennings Elementary, Peter as the principle and Ruthie as a 1st grade teacher. Natalie is a 1st grader at Jennings, Amy is a Kindergartener.  
  
David and Marie: David (25) is a psychologist and Marie is a nurse at Glenoak Hospital where Matt works as well. They have no children, and are not planning on having them, as they both have highly demanding jobs.  
  
Sam and Hailey: (Yes! Sam got married!) Sam and Hailey got Married 3 and a half years ago. They met in college while Hailey was majoring in screen acting. They announced their engagement at the reception of David and Marie's wedding (causing quite an uproar) and got married 5 months later. The moved to northern California, 3 hours from Glenoak, 15 minutes from Hollywood, where Sam is a business consultant, and Hailey is an actress.  
  
Now that you know all of that, enjoy...I know that that is a lot of kids names to remember (difficult for me too, and I'm the writer!!) I will try to say who's kids are who's (especially the new ones in this story) when I mention them. Now, with out further ado...chapter one.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Part 2: A Typical Morning  
  
Sarah Camden finished tossing 3 lunches into paper sacks. She stapled each and wrote the name of the child that each belonged to on the front in pen. Sean and Chloe filed by the kitchen table, each grabbing the bag with their name. Sarah signed and walked to the bottom of the stairs. She cupped her hands around her mouth.  
  
"Emily Katherine Camden! I suggest that you come down stairs right now! You're going to be late for school. This is the 5th time I've called you! Get a move on!"  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming." Emily said as she walked down the stairs. Her blonde hair has pulled back into a ponytail, with a ribbon around the ponytail holder. She had her gray backpack slung over one shoulder. She grabbed her lunch off the table, tossed it in her bag, and zipped it up. "Uh! This gray back pack totally ruins my cute outfit!" She complained, motioning to her pink mini-skirt and white top.  
  
"Hey, you were the one who insisted that you had to have gray so that it "matched everything" now weren't you? No complaining. Now out!" Emily sighed dramatically and started for the door.  
  
"Mom can't I please drive the kids to school?" She asked. At 16 and a half, she still loved to drive anyone anywhere, like most newly licensed drivers do.  
  
"No, Emily. We've talked about this. No other passengers, other than your father or myself, until you're 17. You have to have a years experience on your own first!" She said.  
  
"Mother! That's so stupid!" She cried. Sarah shook her head.  
  
"My parents had that same rule for me, and I turned out just fine. I think you'll live. Now go! It's 7:15!" Sarah said. Kiva High School's classes began at promptly 7:30, and Emily had already been tardy more than once.  
  
"Fine!" Emily said. "You're SO no fun." Emily came over and kissed her mother on the cheek like she did every morning, then walked out the door.  
  
"Drive safely!" Sarah called out behind her. After the door closed, she turned to her 3 younger children, who were all still gathered at the table, 2 of which had their lunches in hand.  
  
"OK, Sean, it's 7:18, school starts at 8:00, we need to leave in 27 minutes, at 7:45. Chloe, school starts at 9:00, so you have an hour and 27 minutes, and Jack because of your half day schedule, you start at noon, so you have a long time." She said.  
  
"We know, mom." The three children chorused. She told them the same thing every morning.  
  
"I know, it just makes me feel better to make sure you know. Now, put you lunches in your back packs, and you can go and play for a bit." Chloe and Sean did as they were told and went upstairs.  
  
"But Mama, I don't have a lunch." Jack said. Sarah nodded.  
  
"I know sweetie. Remember, because you have a half day schedule, you eat lunch at home with me." She told him, for the 3rd time this week.  
  
"Oh yeah." He said. "Hey guys, wait for me!" He cried, taking off up the stairs after his older sister and brother. Sarah laughed and looked at her kitchen. The table was covered in bread from making sandwiches, chips, crackers, desserts, and many other lunch materials. She walked over and straightened everything up. By the time she was all done, it was 7:40, and she knew that it was time to call Sean, as it would take at least 5 minutes for all the kids to be in the car. She called him and the other kids and grabbed her car keys. They came down the stairs and Sean grabbed his backpack.  
  
"Mom?" He asked. Sarah didn't look up.  
  
"Yes Sean?" She answered.  
  
"Do I really have to go to school today?" He asked.  
  
"Yes Sean." She replied.  
  
"Darn." He said. Sarah pointed to the garage door and Sean walked out. Chloe turned to her mother.  
  
"Mommy?" She asked.  
  
"Yes Chloe, you have to come, no, you're not old enough to baby sit." She answered, knowing the question that was to come, like it did every morning.  
  
"Fine." She said. She walked to the garage door closely trailed by Jack. Sarah grabbed her purse and followed them out into the car. After dropping Sean off at his middle school, Chloe requested that she be taken to school early for some extra playground time.  
  
"OK." Sarah told her, "But first we have to go and get your back pack." She pulled the car up out side of the garage and opened the garage door. Chloe scurried inside, and emerged a few seconds later with her backpack on. "Do you have your lunch?" Sarah asked. Chloe unzipped her backpack and peeked in.  
  
"Yep." Chloe answered. Sarah nodded and pulled out again. She dropped Chloe off at school. "Bye mommy." She said, leaning in for a kiss before leaping out of the car and bounding toward the playground where her friends were already playing. Sarah shut the automatic mini-van doors, and began to drive again. When Sarah turned the car the opposite way of home, Jack looked up at her.  
  
"Mommy? Aren't we supposed to go the other way?" He asked, eager to get back to his new coloring book.  
  
"Yes, but I have to make a quick stop at the grocery store first." Jack moaned from the back seat. To 5-year-olds, the grocery store was equal to the most boring place on earth, and whenever his mother said she had to make a 'quick stop' there, it always ended up taking forever.  
  
"Do we have to?" He complained.  
  
"Yes we have to." Sarah said, turning into the parking lot. She pulled into a parking spot and shut off the car. "Come on." She said, getting out. She opened her son's door and helped him out of the car. They walked inside the store and Jack moaned again.  
  
"This place is so boring." He said.  
  
"I'm sorry." Sarah told him. "Like I said, we'll only be here for a minute." She grabbed a cart and began to push it down the first isle, getting bread along the way.  
  
"Sure, whatever you say." Jack said and moped along being his mother. They finished exactly 22 minutes and 13 seconds later (we know this thanks to Jack's new spider man watch). They checked out, and headed back to the car. "Hey mom wanna know how long that took?" He asked for the 4th time.  
  
"You've told me 3 times already!" She said.  
  
"It took 22 minutes and 13 seconds." He said, ignoring her first comment.  
  
"Wow." Sarah said. She put the keys in the slot and pulled out.  
  
"Mom can we go to McDonalds for lunch? Please, please, please?" He begged.  
  
"OK." Sarah said. She pulled into the drive-thru line. "Do you want your usual?" She asked with a smile. Jack nodded. "Hi. I'll have a Cheeseburger happy meal, ketchup only, with a Coke to drink." She said. She pulled forward to the window, paid, and got her food.  
  
"Can I have it?" Jack asked, stretching his hands out.  
  
"Not until we get home. I just vacuumed this car." She answered.  
  
"Pooey." Jack pouted. Sarah laughed.  
  
"It'll only be 5 minutes." She told him. They drove the rest of the way home. As soon as Sarah parked the car, Jack ran inside. Sarah followed with his lunch. She gave it to him while she made herself a tuna sandwhich. "Can I have a sip of your coke?" She asked, leaning over and sipping with out waiting for an answer.  
  
"Mother!" Jack complained. Sarah laughed. "I needed that sip!" He cried.  
  
"For what?" She asked, amused.  
  
"For my energy! I have to have a WHOLE cup." Sarah laughed out loud.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, pretending to be serious. Jack laughed. "Well then I guess you'll have to have a sip of my milk then. My son has to have his energy." Jack smiled and took a sip from his mother's drink. "Now we're even?" She asked.  
  
"Even." Jack said. They finished their lunch, and before long it was time for Jack to go to school. She walked him up to his 1st grade classroom, which was next to Ruthie's, said goodbye to her son, hello to her sister-in- law, and got back in the car.  
  
"Typical morning!" Sarah said to herself with a sigh. She smiled. "And I like it that way."  
  
A/N: Please Review! 


	2. Maddie vs Liv

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything pertaining to the WB. I also don't own any stores or products mentioned in this story, unless it is one that does not already exist (in that case it is mine)  
  
A/N: Hey! Thanks for all of your reviews! I hope that you enjoy this chapter.  
  
In The Days Ahead  
  
Chapter 2: Maddie Vs. Liv  
  
Lucy was just finishing folding the laundry when she heard the front door open and the kids run in. Today was Cecilia's pick up day, for which Lucy was very grateful. The triplets ran into the laundry room where their mother was. Liv was close behind them. Lucy smiled when she saw her four children coming towards her. She leaned down and hugged each, kissing them on the forehead one by one. After she finished, she stood up and faced all of them.  
  
"OK your guys. Who has homework?" She asked. All three of the triplets raised their hands. Liv looked back and forth at all of them, then raised her hand too.  
  
"No you don't." Maddy said, pushing her younger sister's hand down. Liv crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. Lucy smiled at her youngest child.  
  
"OK, Will, Luke, Maddy, get to work." She said, pointing at the kitchen table. They all sighed and walked over to the table, slamming their backpacks down and getting out their binders. Maddy started some math while Luke worked on science and Will on his spelling worksheet. Liv decided to go and play in her room. She took off down the hall, shutting she and Maddy's door behind her. Now that the kids were older, Maddy and Liv shared a room, and Will and Luke shared one.  
  
The phone rang. Lucy stepped out of the room for a minute, leaving the twins to do their homework. When she came back a minute later, purse over her shoulder and car keys in hand.  
  
"OK guys. Aunt Ruthie and Uncle Peter have some meetings tonight, and they won't be home until 8, so Natalie and Amy are going to stay with us. I have to go and pick them up. I'll only be gone for 10 minutes tops. If you have any trouble, I have my cell phone, if there's an emergency, Aunt Mary and Uncle Carlos are right across the street. Their number is on the fridge. I'll be back as soon as possible. I'm taking Liv with me." She said. She walked down the hall and got Liv, who insisted on bringing her baby doll with her. "Bye guys."  
  
"Bye mom." The triplets replied in unison. Lucy drove up to Jennings where Ruthie was waiting with Natalie and Amy. She smiled and waved when she saw her sister-in-law driving up.  
  
"Hey Luce. Hi Liv!" She greeted when they parked. "Lucy, I can't thank you enough. We have meetings, then Peter has to go down to meet with the superintendent of the school while is 45 minutes away, and I have so much grading to do, and grades for the quarter have to be in soon. Christmas break starts week after next!" She smiled.  
  
"I know! I can't believe it's already December. When do the kids get off? The 19th, right?" Ruthie nodded. "Cool. Ok, go to your meeting, the kids will be safe with me!" She laughed.  
  
"OK, thanks a ton! I should be there at about 10:00." Ruthie told Lucy.  
  
"Oh, why don't they just sleep over? They can sleep in the girls' room. I know it's a school night, but all the kids go to the same school, and I can drop them all off as easily as I could drop off my four." She said.  
  
"OK, thanks Luce. Are you sure that you want 6 kids over there all night?" Ruthie asked with a smile.  
  
"We'll be fine, don't worry." She said.  
  
"OK. Bye Natalie, bye Amy." She said, kissing each of her daughters on the cheek.  
  
"Bye mommy." They replied. They got in and buckled up, and started for the Kinkirks home once again. When they got there, the triplets were still doing their homework. Amy and Liv went off to go and play in Liv and Maddy's room while Natalie put down her backpack and sat down by the triplets.  
  
"I have to do a book report." She said, showing her Aunt Lucy the worksheet. There was a line to put the author's name, how many pages were in the book, the book's title, a summary, and the child's personal opinion of the story." Lucy smiled at her niece.  
  
"Wow that looks interesting. What book are you writing about?" Natalie leaned down and shuffled through her backpack for a minute. She sat back up and showed her Aunt a blue book.  
  
"Oh, The Little Puppy. Sounds like a classic to me!" Natalie smiled and nodded. She set to work reading, filling in the spaces on her worksheet at the same time. They finished their homework, and the boys went in to play in their room while Natalie trailed Maddy into her room where Liv and Amy were already playing doll house. Maddy sighed.  
  
"Liv go away. I don't wanna have to deal with babies in my room." She said dramatically. Liv crossed her arms.  
  
"I'm not a baby! I'm 4 and a half years old. I'm a big girl." She cried. Maddy shook her head.  
  
"You're a BABY. Now just go away. I want to do big girl stuff sand there's no babies allowed."  
  
"What kinda big girl stuff?" Liv asked. "And you're a baby if I'm a baby." She objected.  
  
"I'm not a baby! And for your information, I'm doing big girl stuff like listening to my new CD, and drawing. GO AWAY!" Maddy shouted. She pushed her screaming little sister out of the room, closely followed by Amy and Natalie." Lucy came in a few minutes later with her hands on her hips.  
  
"OK, Missy. Everyone is allowed in this room. If you don't want to have your younger sister and your cousins to be with you, then you leave, not them. And I suggest to you that you stay with your sister and cousins, unless you want to be seen as a mean girl, which I know that you aren't."  
  
"Fine, fine." Maddy said. "Let them back in."  
  
"Thank you." Lucy said. She kissed her daughter on the forehead. Maddy pouted a bit as the three younger girls entered the room again. She pouted even more when she was ordered by her mother to apologize to her younger sister for calling her names. After much persuasion, she finally did. After she did so, the tension in the room seemed to lessen, and the world of the Kinkirks (not to mention the Petrowski kids) was happy once again.  
  
Later on that night, after everyone had gotten ready for bed, Lucy got Will and Luke in bed in their room, and Maddy and Liv in their beds. Natalie and Amy spread out sleeping bags on the ground. The boys were asleep immediately, and after about 20 minutes of giggling coming from the girls' room, they too fell asleep. Lucy looked at the clock 8:05. Kevin said that he'd be home at around 8:30 or 9:00 tonight because of some special assignment. She sighed and sat down on the sofa, flipping on some Friends re-runs. If she had to wait for her husband, she was going to have fun at the same time.  
  
A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. Please review! 


	3. Busy Days

Disclaimer: I don't own any thing having to do with 7th Heaven, as you all know. Aww, you're so smart! Hehe.  
  
A/N: Wow guys, thank you for ALL the reviews! I'm getting so many! Can't thank you enough. Oh one other thing: In this story Mary and Carlos' last name has been Ponce, but on 7th Heaven on Monday, I believe they said it was Rivera. I'm not going to change it, just because this is the 3rd story in the trilogy, and it has been Ponce in the other 2! So, I hope that you enjoy this chapter, and please review!

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In The Days Ahead  
  
Chapter 3: A Busy Day  
  
Mary Ponce buckled her 4-year-old son, Kyle, into his car seat, and sat down in the driver's side. Cecilia had called to invite them to go to the park with her and the kids, and Lucy, the triplets, and Liv. Since they called, Kyle hadn't stopped talking about it. Like most of his cousins, he loved the park. When they pulled up, Kyle began to leap up and down in his seat, and when his door opened and he was un buckled, he took off for the swings. Mary laughed and walked over to the grassy area where Cecilia and Lucy were. She sat down next to her sister and sister-in-law. They all laughed as Liv ran over to Kyle and got on the swing next to him. Charlie pushed them each (now age 6, he was getting stronger by the day), then got in the swing next to them.  
  
"It's nice that the kids get along so well." Cecilia said.  
  
"It's wonderful!" Mary commented. She smiled as the kids continued to play and laugh. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if the kids didn't get along. Everything would be so different! She looked up as Kyle was running over to her.  
  
"I'm so cold!" He said, shivering. Mary laughed. She grabbed her son's jacket, which she had brought just in case. He put it on, then dashed back to his cousins, most of which were wearing jackets too. It was December 12th, and the days seemed to be getting colder and colder. Lucy, Mary, and Cecilia continued to chat while the kids played and played.  
  
Sean Camden walked to his older sister's door and pounded on it. He heard Emily's music blaring from the other side, and got no response.  
  
"_Emily_!" He screamed "Turn down your stupid music!" She opened her door and looked down at him.  
  
"_No_!" She said with a smile.  
  
"Yes!" He cried. He had no idea how he was supposed to get his homework done next to a room like hers.  
  
"No!" She shut the door and turned the music up. Sean sighed heavily.  
  
"_MOTHER_!" He called.  
  
"Hold on!" Sarah called back. "I'm busy. I'm trying to bathe your brother!" With that, Jack took off out of the bathroom in only his shirt. He ran down the hall screaming, as he didn't want a bath. Sarah came after him.  
  
"_Jack Eric Camden_!" She called. "Get your little baby butt back here!" He screamed and broke out into a fit of giggles as Chloe grabbed him from the door of her room. She took his hand and led him back to Sarah.  
  
"Thanks sweetie." She said. "Now, what did you need Sean?" She asked. He pointed to Emily's door.  
  
"One word. _Homework_." He said. Sarah nodded.  
  
"I see." She went into her room and grabbed the extra remote to Emily's CD player (a handy tool in times like this). She stood outside Emily's door and hit the off button. The music stopped suddenly.  
  
"_MOM_!" Emily cried.  
  
"Emily, some people in this house don't like your music! We don't all need to hear it. Sean's doing homework, and I know that you have finals to study for. No music. Study. Now." Emily sighed dramatically and flopped down onto her bed. Sarah ushered Jack back into the bathroom and ordered him to take off his shirt and get in the tub. After some objection, he finally gave in and did so. Sean went into his room and sat down at his desk, where he had his science book open and papers spread out everywhere. If he was supposed to write a 5-page essay on geothermal energy by tomorrow, he needed to start, and fast. He picked up his pencil and began to write on the top of his paper. "Sean Camden, period 6, 12/12." He moved his pencil to the top center of his paper. "Geothermal Ener-" He stopped as music began blaring again. He stomped out of his room and turned to the left.  
  
"_Chloe_!"

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Lucy looked down at her watch with a sigh.  
  
"Well girls, we need to get going. Maddy has ballet at 5, and it's already 4:15. We need to get her dressed and down there." Mary and Cecilia nodded. Lucy cupped her hands around her mouth.  
  
"Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv Kinkirk, please report to your mother! Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv, report to your mother. Thank you." She laughed. The kids all ran over to her. When they got there, they demanded an explanation. "Maddy has ballet remember?" She asked.  
  
"It's Sunday?" Maddy asked sadly.  
  
"Yes." Lucy told her. "You four need to grab your stuff and then we have to go." They nodded, each grabbing his or her sand toy from off the playground and reporting back to Lucy. She turned to Mary and Cecilia. "Well, I'll see you later. Thanks for coming up to hang out with us for awhile. I know that the kids had a great time." She turned to the playground where her nieces and nephews were. "Bye Kyle, Rachel, Ethan and Charlie!" They looked up and waved to their Aunt. She smiled and started for the car with her own four children. When they got there, Will and Luke took the back seat of the Kinkirk mini-van, while Maddy got in the middle seat and helped Liv into her car seat next to her. After checking to make sure that everyone was buckled in correctly, Lucy got in the driver's seat and took the kids home. When they got there, she let them out of the car. Before they could go inside, she stopped them. "Will and Luke, you can each choose one toy to take to grandma and grandpa's house." She instructed. Every Sunday, she took the boys over to Annie and Eric's while Maddy had ballet. "Maddy, go get on your tights and your leotard. Then bring me your hair tie and I'll put your hair into a bun." Maddy nodded. Lucy turned to Liv. "Do you want to come with mommy and sissy, or do you want to go to grandma and grandpa's with your brothers.  
  
"Ballet." She said. "Can I bring dolly? She likes to watch sissy dance with her class." Lucy nodded her approval. The kids all went inside, each doing as they were told to do. After Will, and Luke got their toys, and Liv her doll, the three went to play on the boys' favorite game: Mario Party 5 on the Nintendo Game Cube. Maddy came in a few minutes later. She was in her light pink tights and black leotard. Her blonde wavy hair was hanging at her shoulders. She was holding her black hair tie and black ballet shoes in her hands. She sat down by Lucy and held out her hair tie. Lucy grabbed the hairbrush and pulled her daughter's hair back into a neat bun. After she was finished, she helped Maddy get her ballet shoes on and tied.  
  
"OK guys, time to go!" She said. The kids shut off the Nintendo, picked up their toys, and got into the car. Lucy drove them over to Annie and Eric's to drop them off. After thanking her parents, she drove Liv and Maddy down to the dance school. Maddy scurried into her class just 2 minutes before it was to start while Lucy and Liv got seats outside the classroom, facing the window. Before long, music started playing on the inside of the room, and the teacher began to warm the kids up.

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Cecilia Camden cleaned up the dinner dishes and looked over at her husband, who had just come downstairs after tucking 6-year-old Charlie into bed. He smiled at her and she walked over to him. He kissed her on the forehead.  
  
"One down, 2 to go." He told her. Cecilia nodded with a smile. "Mr. Charles wants you to come and kiss him goodnight, then you should probably get Ethan in bed. I'll come and say goodnight to him after you finish."  
  
"OK." She said and started up the stairs. She entered her youngest son's room. He was lying on his bed with his flashlight on, shining it all around the room. "Hey you. Shut that off. It's time to sleep. You have school tomorrow ya know."  
  
"I know, I know." He said, sadly shutting off his favorite toy. She laughed and tousled her son's brown hair. He curled up and Cecilia pulled the blanket over her son. She kissed him on the head.  
  
"Good night, sweetie." She said as she began to leave the room.  
  
"Good night, mommy." Answered the tired voice of her son. She left the room and walked to the next in the hall, Ethan's. Her 9-year-old son was sitting on his bed with legos spread around him. When he saw his mother, he pushed the little bricks off of his bed and into the basket next to his bed. He got under the covers and shut the light off. Cecilia kissed him on the head.  
  
"Good night, Ethan. I love you." She said.  
  
"Night." He answered. She went to the edge of the stairs and called for Simon to come say good night to Ethan. Her husband started up the stairs. When he got to the top, he kissed her.  
  
"I'll say good night to Ethan, and tuck Rachel in too." He told her.  
  
"Thanks. I'm going to go and get ready for bed." She said. Simon nodded and started for Ethan's room while Cecilia walked down to the end of the hall where she and Simon's bedroom was waiting.

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A/N: I hope that you liked...please review! 


	4. Family Visits

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Disclaimer: I do _not_ own 7th Heaven, or anything affiliated with the WB. I also (sadly) have nothing to do with Brad Pitt.

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I thank Camden-Kinkirk for pointing out my mistake in the last chapter, which has since been fixed. I really hope that you enjoy this next chapter.

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In The Days Ahead

Chapter 4: Family Visits

It is December 25, Christmas Day. The kids are on break from school, and the entire family has been invited to spend Christmas at Annie and Eric's home.

Annie Camden walked into the kitchen and opened up her oven. She smiled as she was surrounded by a wonderful sweet smell: her honey-baked ham was done. Hands covered in oven-mits, she reached in and took dinner out. She placed it on the kitchen table amid the other dishes, like peas, corn, rolls, butter, and more. Eric walked over to the table and cut the ham nicely as Annie pulled out 30 plates, one for each of her children, children-in-law, grandchildren, and one for herself and Eric.

The house was full of noise. All the kids were in the back yard playing. The younger children were playing tag and hide and go seek, while Emily and Rachel played basketball at Mary's old hoop. The adults were socializing in the family room. The only ones who had not yet arrived were Sam and Hailey. Just as Annie thought of her son and daughter-in-law, the phone rang. She reached over and picked it up.

"Hello?" She asked warmly into the receiver. She was happy to her Sam's voice on the other end. "Hi sweet heart. Are you and Hailey still coming? Everyone got here at 3:30, and now it's almost half past four…oh. OK. How long do you think you'll be?…Ok. Yes that's probably a good idea; everyone's getting hungry. I'll be sure to save you some though for you to take home…I love you…bye." She hung up and sighed, turning to Eric. "That was Sam. Hailey had to go onto the set for a few hours this morning…it wasn't planned, but I guess they had to do it…Sam wasn't very clear. Anyway, they won't be here for another hour, so he said to eat with out them, and then I'm saving them some to take home."

"Oh, OK. Sounds good to me. I'm glad he called."

"Me too." Annie walked out to where the rest of the family was chatting and announced that dinner was about to be served. Everyone entered the dining room for the first time that night, and gasped. Annie had outdone herself. The nice china was on the table, over a beautiful table cloth, candles were lit, the room was decorated for Christmas, and dinner was on the table, smelling good even from under it's covers. Next to the adult table was a fold up table with plastic dishes that resembled glass (to make the kids still feel special). It had a few plug in candles on it with light bulbs that flickered for flames. Sean, Chloe, and Jack Camden, Kyle Ponce, Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv Kinkirk, Ethan, and Charlie Camden, and Natalie and Amy Petrowski all took their places at the kid table. Emily and Rachel, being 16 and 13 respectively, got to sit with the adults at the adult table. Annie had already made up identical plates for each of the kids, with the exception of Liv, who was allergic to peas. She had put pie tins over each of the children's plates as covers. They each lifted their 'cover' and looked at the food with wide eyes and growling stomachs. The adults went around the table, each serving themselves from the food dishes around the table, and filling their cups with either water or milk, according to their liking. Annie went around the childrens' table and filled each of their cups with milk or water, depending on what they asked for. She made sure to have sippy cups of the drink of their choice for everyone under 6: Jack, Kyle, Liv and Amy. After everyone had their food and drink, they bowed their heads, and Eric said a blessing. As soon as he spoke the word "Amen", the table went wild with noise as everyone began to dig into their dinner.

"Oh, Annie!" Marie exclaimed. "This is just divine! You've truly outdone yourself!" Her husband, David, nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah mom, this is wonderful!" "Yeah" and other agreements were muttered all around the table. Annie basked in the complements. If there was anything she loved to do, it was cook for her family.

"Thank you!" She said, once everyone had stopped. "I'm so glad that you like it!" She took a bite of her food and smiled to herself. _It's not too bad, if I say so myself…_she thought. When everyone was almost finished with their dessert, they heard the door open. Sam and Hailey stepped in and smiled at the family.

"Sam! Hailey!" Annie got up and rushed over to her son and daughter-in-law, hugging them each warmly. "I've missed you so much!" She told them, having not seen them in 4, almost 5 months. Hailey was currently working in a film. She had her biggest role yet, as the main character's sister, who appeared many times. She was very excited, as was the rest of the family, and no one could wait to see the movie once it came out. Hailey was also ecstatic to be working with her favorite actor, Brad Pitt. It was a dream come true!

"Hi everyone!" Sam said. Hailey repeated what her husband had said. "How was dinner?" He asked with a laugh.

"It was great!" Emily answered. "So, Hailey! How's the movie going?" At age 16, Emily was completely enamored with the thought of having a "movie-star aunt". Though she wasn't exactly a "star" yet, Hailey was certainly on her way.

"It's going really well, actually. That's why we were late. For those of you who didn't know, we're about half way done with the shooting of 'Jamestown." She said of her film. "I got called in this morning by the director. Apparently, the scene he thought we had finished with yesterday still didn't look right after all, so he wanted to re-shoot!"

"Oh! So, what's "Jamestown" about?" Asked 13-year-old Rachel.

"Well, it's about a woman who just moved into a mansion…"

"All by herself?" Asked Maddy, interrupting.

"Yes, all by herself. Some weird things start happening, and she thinks that it's haunted, and…oh, I can't give it all away! Just trust me, it's pretty cool. I can't wait for you to see it!

"Yeah me either!" Both Rachel and Emily said, then laughed because of their synchronization. Everyone finished quickly then the entire family moved into the family room, where the Christmas tree stood tall, decorated with lights and tons of ornaments. Presents were stacked high underneath the tree. The triplets, along with Ethan and Charlie, took the liberty of passing out everyone's presents. Lucy and Kevin helped them, making sure that they were giving them to the right people. After they were all passed out, the opening frenzy began. Everyone got many cool things, and the kids were all antsy to play with their new toys. As Emily opened her last present, which was from Hailey, she let out a squeal of delight and ran over to her aunt, hugging her and thanking her profusely.

"What is it?" Much of the family asked in unison, curious as to what could excite Emily so much. She hadn't acted like this since she got her "Susie sings a lot" doll back on her 6th birthday.

"_Brad Pitt's_ _autograph!!" _She cried, jumping up and down. She held it up for everyone to see. "Emily, have a great Christmas! It has been a lot of fun working with your Aunt lately. I hope you enjoy Jamestown once it's out. Peace, _BRAD PITT_!!" She read aloud. Every one oohed and ahhed over Emily's new found pride and joy. Hailey laughed when she saw the hurt look on Rachel's face.

"Rachel sweetie! Open you're last present from me…you might be happy…" She hinted. Rachel gasped, remembering about her last present. She opened it up quickly, and too began to jump up and down, also having received an autograph from her aunt's co-star.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed, hugging her aunt tightly. Emily did the same again.

"You two are more than welcome!" She said. "I brought frames to fit those too for ya. I have them in Uncle Sam and my car. I'll go get them for you after we all pack up our stuff, OK? The girls agreed.

Everyone began making trips to their car, loading up the presents. After they were finally finished, and Emily and Rachel had their frames, the family began to say their good-byes. Everyone left, with the exception of Sam and Hailey, as it was a three-hour drive back home, and already 11 o'clock. Annie had Matt's old room all ready for them. Sam, Hailey, Annie, and Eric stayed up until 2 o'clock AM, catching up about everything going on in their lives. They finally stopped talking when they saw that Hailey had fallen asleep on her husband's shoulder, exhausted after a day of shooting and driving. He woke her long enough to say goodnight to Mr. And Mrs. Camden Sr., then he walked with her upstairs to their room. After getting their teeth brushed and pajamas on, the light went out, and they were both fast asleep. Annie and Eric walked past the room their son and daughter-in-law were sleeping in. Annie smiled.

"It's nice to have them here." She said. Annie nodded and kissed his wife on the head.

"It is." He agreed. "It is." With that, they walked into their own room, and after getting ready for bed, their light too shut off, and the house was silent.

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A/N: Please review!


	5. A Night on the Town

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Disclaimer: You know the drill! I _do_ own the restaurant "Chez Paul" (pron. Shay Paul) that is used in this chapter.

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews, as always! Keep 'um coming! Haha. I don't know when Sarah and Matt got married…so let's make believe. : - D

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In The Days Ahead

Chapter 5: A Night on the Town

Winter Break has ended, and it is now Friday, January 23rd.

Matt Camden pulled up in front of the house that belonged to he and his family. He quietly grabbed the bouquet of flowers from his car and held it behind his back. Stealthily, he tip-toed up the walk and opened the door. He saw his wife, who was facing away from him. She was standing at the sink, washing their youngest son, Jack's hands. He snuck up behind her. As soon as Jack's hands were clean and he was getting down Matt put his free hand over his wife's eyes. When Jack opened his mouth to tell his mother who was behind her, Matt motioned for him to be quite. The little boy smiled, happy to be in on his father's plan…whatever it was.

"I know who it is!" Jack sang happily.

"I do too!" Sarah said. She turned around and kissed her husband. She knew him all too well. He laughed and kissed her back. When she backed up again, he pulled out the bouquet. Sarah gasped and took it from him with a huge smile. She brought it up to her nose and smelled it. She sighed happily. "What is this for?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well, Mrs. Camden, get your coat. We're going out tonight." He told her. She looked up at him with a smile.

"Why Mr. Camden, what do you mean?" She asked, playing along.

"You've been so busy lately, and you've been so awesome with the kids. The house is always so nice. You have so many things going on, yet you still manage to have dinner on the table every night. Now it's my turn to have dinner on the table for you." Sarah looked at him nervously.

"You're _not_ going to cook for me…are you?" She asked. She loved almost everything about, but one thing she didn't love about him was his cooking. Matt laughed and shook his head, prompting a sigh of relief on Sarah's part.

"No." He said. "I'm taking you to dinner and a movie. Just like when we were dating." He said. Sarah laughed.

"And the kids?" She asked. "Are they coming?"

"Did the kids come with us when we were dating?" He asked. Sarah looked at him with a furled brow. Where exactly was he going with this?

"No…we didn't have kids when we were dating…" She responded. Matt nodded.

"Precisely." He said. "Since I know Emily's sleeping over at her friend's house tonight so she can't baby sit, it's already been worked out with Lucy and Kevin for Sean, Chloe, and Jack to go over there." Sarah nodded.

"OK…Emily's gone already. She left half an hour ago." She told him.

"OK then, let's go." Sarah placed her flowers in a vase while Matt got the kids to get their things. Sarah again looked at her husband with a confused look when the kids came out, each with their suitcase.

"Matt?" She asked. What on Earth was he up to?

"They're staying the night with the Kinkirks." He said. Sarah didn't feel like questioning him, so she nodded her head. Matt got the kids in the car, then turned to Sarah. "I'm going to drop them off. While I'm gone, get dressed up. This isn't exactly McDonald's that we're going to." Sarah agreed to do so, and Matt pulled out. When he got home, he walked to the door and knocked. When Sarah answered, his draw nearly hit the floor. She was in a form-fitting, knee length ruby red dress with a low neckline. She had a pearl necklace on. Her make up had been refreshed. She had black strappy sandals on. Her dress moved smoothly over every curve. She smiled.

"Should we go?" She asked. Matt nodded. They kissed, and he held out his hand. She took it and he led her to the car. He opened the door for her and after she was seated, he got in the driver's seat. They drove in silence. Sarah laughed when Matt pulled into the parking lot of Chez Paul, only one of the ritziest restaurants in all of Glen Oak. Matt drove over to the chauffeurs. One came around and helped Sarah out of the car. Matt handed over the keys and paid the man for his services. He took his wife by the hand and led her inside. When they got in, they walked over to the main desk.

"Hello. Welcome to Chez Paul. Name please?" The woman asked.

"Sarah and Matt Camden." Matt said. The woman scanned the list in front of her.

"Ahh, hello sir. Mr. Camden, Mrs. Camden, right this way please." She led them to the center of the restaurant, where she seated them at a table for two. There was a live band playing on the stage and people dancing on the floor in the ballroom, which was next to the dining room they were in. After being seated for a few minutes, a server came over to them.

"Hello sir, ma'am." He greeted. He sat down a champagne glass in front of each of them and popped the top of a brand new champagne bottle, filling each glass carefully.

"Thank you." Sarah and Matt said. After he left, Matt turned to his wife and held up his glass.

"To 18 years of marriage. The best 18 years of my life. I've spent them with the most beautiful woman on Earth, and we're together raising four wonderful children. I love you. Happy 18th Anniversary." He said. Sarah's breath caught in her throat. They clinked glasses and each took a sip.

"I really have to use the restroom Matt…I'll be right back, and we can pick up where we left off." She said quickly. Matt, though confused why his wife was picking now to leave, nodded his head. Sarah got up, grabbed her purse, and darted away. Instead of going to the bathroom, she ran outside. _OH MY GOSH! It's our anniversary. How could I forget our anniversary?_ She thought to herself in a panic. She had been so busy that she had completely forgotten. _I don't have a present for him, I don't have anything! What am I going to do? This is horrible! _She took a deep breath, trying to get a hold of herself. _Ok Sarah, think, think. He doesn't have to know that I didn't remember. _Suddenly she had an idea.

"Hi Mary…It's Sarah. Listen…can you do me a giant favor…"

* * *

_It's sure taking her a long time…_Matt thought to himself. _Well, she is a woman. Women always take a long time in the bathroom. It's just what they do._ He looked up and saw Sarah, looking confident, walking over to him. 

"Sorry about that." She said, taking her seat.

"It's all right." Matt told her. "I ordered for us, I hope you don't mind. I got a steak for us to split."

"Oh! My favorite." She said with a smile. She lifted her wine-glass to her lips and took a sip. "This is delicious." She said. Matt smiled at her and nodded. Their stake soon came and the couple dug in. When Sarah was about half way done with her half of the food, she stopped and looked down at her stomach in her tight dress, which was beginning to bulge slightly. "I think I'll get the second half boxed up." She told her husband. "I'd like this dress to fit when we leave." Matt laughed and motioned for the waiter. When he came over, Matt asked for the steak to be boxed up, and also had his remaining food boxed as well. The waiter brought back the boxes in a bag a few minutes later and Matt paid the check for their dinner.

"Feel free to take to the dance floor." He told them. "Your purse, madam, can be left at the desk to the right of the door, along with anything you don't want with you while you dance." They thanked him and he left. They stood. Sarah left her purse at the desk. When she finished, Matt turned to her and held out his hand.

"May I have this dance?" He asked. Sarah smiled and took his hand. He kissed it.

"You may." She said. He led her onto the dance floor, and put his arms around her. They began to sway to the slow music. Sarah rested her head on Matt's shoulder. She sighed happily. She was just where she wanted to be. With Matt, she felt safe, and loved, secure, and everything she wanted, needed, or had ever dreamed of. He leaned down and kissed her ear softly.

"I love you." He whispered. She smiled.

"And I love you." She said. They spent the next hour there, dancing in the ballroom, and they knew in their hearts that they were the happiest people in the world.

* * *

They had finally decided to leave. After they walked out of the building and the chauffeur brought the car around, Matt helped his wife of 18 years into her seat, then got into his own. He drove her home. Sarah smiled slyly as she saw Mary's car driving away as they turned onto the street. Matt hadn't even noticed. He pulled into the driveway and helped her out. When they walked inside, it was Matt's turn to be surprised. The lights were off. The only light in the room was coming from a fire in the fireplace. There were two steaming cups of coffee sitting on the coffee table, a cozy blanket on the sofa in front of the fire, and soft music playing. They walked inside. Even Sarah was impressed. Boy, had Mary come through or what? Sarah led her husband over to the sofa and they sat down. She scooted close to him as he covered them with the soft blanket. They each sipped from their cup of coffee, still piping hot. Matt had no idea how on earth Sarah could have gotten this done, but what he did know was that he loved it. They sat down their coffee and Matt turned to Sarah. 

"Want to know something funny?" He asked. Sarah nodded her head. "I actually thought that you might have forgotten about the anniversary." He said with a soft laugh. She faked a laugh, and even surprised her self at how real it sounded.

"How could I forget our anniversary?" She asked. Matt smiled at her, and she smiled back. This would be her and Mary's little secret.

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_A/N:_ Review please! 

Credit for the idea to have Sarah and Matt go out goes to SarahMattCamden. It was my idea for the anniversary thing however.


	6. Action!

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Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say! (if you don't, please seek professional help.)

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A/N: Hey! I'm sorry about the long update time. Severe writer's block has been taking me over!

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In The Days Ahead 

Chapter 6: Action!

February 2

Hailey Camden sighed and looked at her watch. 7:52 PM. She had been on the set of Jamestown since 9:00 this morning. Almost everyone else had gotten to go home for the evening. It was just Hailey, and a co-star, the girl who played her best friend. They had been working on the same scene for just over an hour now, and just couldn't seem to get it right. She hated to be here so late. Sam got off of work every day at 6:00, and she hated to be away from him so much.

"Hailey!" The director's voice shook her from her thoughts. She looked up. "From your line please. Let's go from "She's going crazy."" Hailey nodded her head. She took a deep breath and got in to character. "And…action!" The director called. Hailey put her hands in the soapy water of the sink and began to 'wash the dishes.' Her 'best friend' turned to her as she dried the dishes, and Hailey began to talk.

"She's going crazy. I mean, we all know that there are no such things as ghosts. I don't mean to put my sister down, I really don't. It's just…" The other actress nodded.

"Your poor sister. She's simply losing her mind." She said. Hailey lifted a plate out of the sink and there was a crash off stage, as planned, as the 'door' was opened and slammed shut. No one came in. Now totally into her part, Hailey dropped her plate, and it shattered into pieces on the ground.

"Wh-what was that?" She asked, acting convincingly afraid. She looked around her and gasped as the picture frames flew off of the table in the end of the room, each shattering on the ground. "What's going on?" She, as her character, cried. The actress playing her best friend just shook her head, not having any words. Suddenly, the other actress screamed.

"Anne!" She cried, as Hailey's character's name was Anne. "Look!" Hailey spun around and screamed too as they saw sprawled across the window in deep blue letters 'No such thing as ghosts?'.

"And…CUT!" The director yelled. "Beautiful! Absolutely beautiful. Now of course, there will be some dramatic music and all that, but if I do say so myself, I knew what was going to happen and I just about wet myself. Fabulous, ladies. You can get your things and go home for the night. We're done! See you tomorrow morning at 11." Hailey and her co-star nodded and went opposite ways to their trailers. Hailey got her purse and got in her car. After driving for 20 minutes, she pulled into she and Sam's driveway. She got out and locked up. She was reached for the door handle and entered her house. When she got in, she was greeted with the sight of candles, lit around the room. Sam stepped out and kissed his wife.

"What's all this?" Hailey asked, pretending that she had no idea. Sam smiled and kissed her again.

"Well, you see, it's my wife's 25th birthday today." He explained, "and I thought we could celebrate after she got home from work." Hailey smiled happily. She was absolutely convinced that there was no man better than hers. Sam lead his wife to the coffee table where there was a small, wrapped box. "For you, my dear." He told her. She smiled and they sat down. She unwrapped the box carefully, only to reveal another, black, box. She opened it up and gasped. Inside was a bracelet. It was a silver chain. In the center were 3 gold hearts, all connected, with diamonds down the left side of each heart.

"Sam this is beautiful!" Hailey exclaimed. "Thank you!" She kissed her husband sweetly and he smiled at her.

"Your welcome." He told her. "I love you."

"I love you too." She replied. They spent the next hour there on the sofa, spending some much-needed time together.

* * *

"Mom?" Asked Rachel on Sunday night, walking over to Cecilia. Cecilia looked up at her daughter and nodded. They sat down at the kitchen table. "I need to talk to you. And you have to promise that you won't flip. OK?" She asked. Cecilia eyed her daughter suspiciously. 

"OK." She said. "Go ahead."

"Well there's this guy, right? And he's really cool. I mean, really, really, _really_ cool. And he's mature and awesome and…"

"And?" Cecilia asked. She knew that her daughter was getting to something, only she didn't know exactly what.

"And he asked me out today and I really, really wanna go." She said. Cecilia looked at her daughter with 'the look'.

"You know the rule, sweetie. No dating until you're 16. And how old is this boy anyway?"

"16…" She said looking at the ground. "So if one of us is 16 can I…"

"NO!" Cecilia exclaimed. "16? Rachel you're 13. _13_. There's no way that you're going to date a 16-year-old. _You_ have to be 16."

"Mom!" She objected.

"I'm sorry, Rach, but that rule is for your own good. I just don't want you to get hurt!" She told her daughter. Rachel folded her arms. She hated be 'only 13'. She was ready to be older. "But remember the _other_ rule…you're allowed to start _double_-dating when you're 14. Only 3 months away…Rachel nodded. "And when you get to be that age, _then_ we'll discuss who you date, when you date, and so on.

"OK." Rachel said. She rose from the table and went back upstairs. A few minutes later, her music was heard coming from the 2nd level of the home. Cecilia shook her head. Kids wanted to grow up so fast!

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Monday, February 4

"William, Luke, and Madison Kinkirk, get over here, now!" Lucy called for the 6th time that morning. The kids were being extra slow this morning. They all got up late, took a long time getting dressed, even longer eating breakfast, and now they had been gone for the last 20 minutes doing heaven knew what. Liv was the only one on time. She was sitting at the kitchen table, backpack on. She had her lunch in her lunch box, which was sitting in front of her.

"Mom!" Liv complained. School started at 9:00 am and it was already 8:53. Lucy nodded her head.

"I know sweetie. Ya know what? Why don't you get in the car? I'll be right there." Liv did as she was told and Lucy started down the hall. The triplets were all in the bathroom. Lucy gasped when she saw what they were doing. They had pulled out all of the shaving cream and were in the process of covering the mirror in it, tracing things in it as they went. "That's it!" She yelled. "Will, Luke, Maddy, go to your rooms, _now_. I'm taking your sister to school."

"But we'll be late!" Maddy objected.

"Go to your room." She repeated. The kids did as they were told. Lucy grabbed her purse and got in the car. She dropped Liv off at her preschool class right before the 9:00 bell rang. When she got home, she went down the hall again. Will and Luke were in their rooms, and Maddy was In hers. Lucy entered the boys' room first.

"Luke, go get Maddy." He did as he was told. After he and Maddy came into the room, Lucy had them each sit on the floor in front of her.

"You three, I am _very_ disappointed in you." She told them "You knew that you had to get to school this morning. You knew that you were supposed to be in the kitchen ready to go at 7:45, and you knew that your sister had to get to school too!" They all looked at the floor. "Now, Maddy, go to your room, Luke, stay here, and Will go wait in daddy's office so I can talk to you each on your own." She said. They did as their mother told them. After going to each room and sentencing them each to a 1 week grounding, and no dessert for the day, she had them all go into the bathroom and clean up the mess they had made. After they were done, Lucy gave them each their lunch, and drove them to school, one hour late. When she got home, she sighed and looked at the bathroom again. Despite herself, she began to laugh, remembering the time when she and Mary had done the exact same thing, at ages 6 and 7.

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A/N: Review! I hope you liked this chapter. ALSO, please, please, please, if you have any ideas for this story, e-mail me at camdengirlfanfic(at)aol.com, subject line: ITDA Story Idea. I really need them! (sorry about the (at) it won't let me do the at sign!)


	7. Fabulous

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Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything pertaining to the WB Network.

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A/N: Hey! Thanks for the reviews. I'm glad that you like this so far. I still need ideas, so keep 'um coming! Thank you to Cnflute for sending in an idea!

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February 14, Valentines day

In The Days Ahead

Chapter 7: Fabulous

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Emily Camden stood at her vanity, adding the finishing touches to her eyeliner. She backed up and looked in the mirror. The 16-year-old looked stunning, her dark blonde hair was loosely curled. She was dressed in a short, form-fitted red dress with spaghetti straps. She had on a heart necklace and a silver bracelet. She turned for side to side, smoothing her dress and fixing her hair and make up. She was so busy looking at herself in the mirror, in fact, that she didn't notice her 8-year-old sister enter the room. Chloe flopped down on Emily's twin size bed, rumpling the soft maroon comforter.

"Watcha dooin?" She asked, startling her older sister. Emily spun around to see Chloe lying on her bed. She looked quickly around to see if either of her brothers had followed Chloe in. When she saw that they hadn't, she looked back at Chloe.

"I'm getting ready for my date with Justin." She explained. Justin was her boyfriend of almost 3 years. They had double-dated with another couple when she was 14 and he was 15, and now that she was 16, they were allowed to go out one-on-one. Justin was 17, a senior at Kiva high school. He would be 18 in 4 months. Chloe nodded her head.

"Can you make me look pretty as you?" She asked. Emily smiled and looked at the clock. She still had 15 minutes before her boyfriend was supposed to pick her up.

"Sure." She said. "Come over here." Chloe jumped up and ran to her sister, who lifted her up to sit on the vanity itself. She picked out her sheerest lipstick and put some on the very happy Chloe. She put some silver glitter eye shadow from when she was 12 on her little sister's eyelids, and then put a minuscule amount of blush on her already pink cheeks. Chloe jumped down and turned to admire herself in the mirror.

"Thanks!" She exclaimed. Emily smiled and bopped her sister on the head.

"Your welcome, gorgeous. You better stay away from those boys, cause you look _hot!_" She joked. Chloe smiled happily at her older sister and gave her a big hug. With that, she started out of the room and down the stairs to show off her new look to the rest of the family. Emily checked herself once more in the mirror before going over and sitting down on her already-crumpled bed spread. She reached down and grabbed her black, strappy sandals, which she had laid out to wear with her dress. Just as she buckled the second sandal, the doorbell rang. She grabbed her purse and hurried down the stairs. She opened the door and smiled when she saw Justin standing outside. He was in nice tan pants and a blue shirt with dress shoes. Sarah came into the room and looked at her daughter and her boyfriend.

"Have fun you two. I know your curfew's normally 11, but since it's Valentine's day, I'll make it midnight."

"Thanks." Emily and Justin said at the same time. Since Justin's curfew was already midnight, it wouldn't be a problem. They said goodbye to Emily's mother, and started out the door. As soon as it shut behind them, Justin took his girl friend's hand and led her down the path leading to the driveway. As soon as they rounded the corner or the path, and were out of sight from the front windows, they stopped and kissed. Emily laughed. They always did that; it was like their little tradition. Justin took Emily's hand again and led her around to the passenger side of his red mustang convertible. He opened her door for her and she climbed in. After she was in, he shut her door and walked around to the driver's seat. He got in, shut the door, and turned to his girlfriend.

"Put the top down!" She said excitedly.

"Anything for you." He said sweetly. He put the key into the ignition and lowered the top of the convertible, leaving nothing but air between them and the 7 o'clock sky. He turned the key, which started the engine to his car, and pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

Back at the home of Sarah and Matt Camden, things were still crazy. Matt pulled into the garage and parked. He got out of his car and walked into the house. He was immediately met by Chloe, who nearly took him down, just to show him how Emily had put some makeup on her face. Matt agreed that his daughter looked gorgeous, then continued into the kitchen. His wife smiled and greeted him with a kiss, which he gladly accepted.

"Happy Valentines Day." He whispered in her ear. Sarah returned the sentiment and they kissed again. They were just going in for a third kiss when they were loudly interrupted.

"_Ewwwwww_!" Cried 11-year-old Sean. "That's _so _gross!" 5-year-old Jack decided to join in the commotion that his brother was making, even though he had no idea what it was about.

"Yeah! _Ewww!_" He cried. Jack leaned over to Sean and loudly whispered, "What's so gross?" Sarah and Matt started to crack up.

"Never mind." Sean said. "It's over." Jack nodded his head and walked back up the stairs to his room. After looking back to make sure that his parents were separated, Sean too started up the stairs to his room. Sarah turned to her husband and again started to laugh. Matt took his wife into his arms and kept her there for a few minutes. She finally broke away to stir the spaghetti noodles which were done. She poured the contents of the large silver bowl into a strainer in the sink. After all the water was gone, she got the noodles back in the bowl, and served some food onto 5 plates: one for Matt, herself, Sean, Chloe, and Jack. She spooned some sauce over each of the piles of noodles, and placed the plates at the spots of the table. The family sat down at the table, and after Matt said the blessing, they began their meal.

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Lucy, Kevin, Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv Kinkirk were just finishing up their chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting that Maddy and Liv had helped their mother make that afternoon, in honor of Valentine's day. The triplets, who were very happy that their week's worth of grounding had ended just the day before, finished first. Lucy told her children to put their dishes in the dishwasher, and to throw away their cupcake wrappers. They did as they were told, then were sent to get ready for bed. Liv finished her food next and did the same as her older siblings were told to. After Kevin and Lucy finished, they turned to look at one another.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Lucy told Kevin. He smiled at his wife and kissed her.

"Same to you." He said. "I only wish that it was Valentine's Day every day so I could get to eat these _wonderful_ cupcakes!" He joked. Lucy smiled.

"The girls had so much fun making them." She said. "They were so excited to let you, Will and Luke taste them." Kevin laughed.

"Well, they have my approval." Lucy nodded with a smile.

"They'll be glad to hear that."

They were interrupted then by Luke, who ran into the kitchen in tears. He was closely followed by Will. Lucy and Kevin both jumped up and rushed over to see what was wrong. He held out his arm to reveal a good-sized gash down the underside of his arm. Lucy led her son over to the sink and wet a paper towel, holding it to his arm with pressure to stop the bleeding. While she tried to calm Luke, she asked Will what had happened. He told her that Luke had been reaching for his pajamas, which were on the top of their wooden dresser. He had fallen, and the corner dug into Luke's underarm, causing the gash. Luke howled and howled as the blood continued to pour from his arm. Lucy lifted him onto the sink and began to wash the cut with soap, as it had been cut on their very dirty dresser. Luke screamed bloody murder as his arm stung even worse. Liv and Maddy had since joined the crowd, after they heard the crying. Lucy wiped her son's tears with a new paper towel. Liv began to cry loudly, just because she knew her older brother was in pain. Kevin picked her up and tried to stop her tears. Lucy wrapped her son's arm in gauze, and he finally stopped crying. She kissed him on the cheek.

"Are you OK?" She asked as he took a deep breath.

"Yes." He told her. She set him down on the floor, and he left again for his room with his siblings. Lucy went upstairs and helped Luke get into his pajamas so that he didn't hurt his arm again. After they were all in their P.J.'s, and had their teeth brushed, Lucy had them each get into bed. Kevin came up and tucked in the boys while Lucy tucked in the girls, then they switched. After the kids were in bed and had been tucked in, Lucy and Kevin went into their own room to get ready for bed. Lucy sighed and laid down on the center of the bed, exhausted. Kevin did the same next to her, leaving only 4 inches to his right side. With that, they both fell asleep peacefully.

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A/N: I hope that you liked this! Please review! Don't forget to send ideas to camdengirlfanfic(at)aol.com. Subject Line: ITDA Story Idea


	8. Being Sneaky

_Disclaimer:_ Please see other chapters if you don't already know what I'm going to say!

_A/N:_ Hey everyone. Sorry that it took me so terribly long to get this up. Circumstances beyond my control! I hope you enjoy this. Thanks for the reviews you all sent. Oh, and to answer one of those reviews, I make things bold/italic by using the text editor/chapter preview in the document manager.

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**March 2**

In The Days Ahead

Chapter 8: Being Sneaky

Chloe Camden rushed up the stairs and into her older sister's room. She found Emily sitting on her bed reading her new magazine. Chloe ran through the door and leaped onto the bed, disturbing her sister's peace and quiet greatly. Emily sighed deeply and flopped her magazine down onto her chest, looking over at her younger sister to see what she wanted.

"Eemmiillllyy?" She asked slowly and sweetly with a little smile on her face. Emily continued to look at her and nodded her head. "Will you take me to the park to play cause I'm really, really, really bored." She said. Emily looked at her clock. 12:32 pm. Emily nodded her head again, sending Chloe into an excited dance around the room. "Whoo hoo! Thanks!" She cried, darting from the room to go get ready. Emily got up and walked over to her mirror. She looked at herself closely. She was in long grey sweat pants and a tight long sleeved pink shirt. She nodded at herself and went over to her dressing table where she grabbed a hairbrush and combed through her hair. She put on some tennis shoes and tied her hair back. Now that she was ready, she surveyed herself once more in the mirror. _Perfect._ She thought, and walked out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen. Sarah looked up from what she was doing.

"Where are you going?" She asked, seeing that her daughter had tidied up a bit. Emily walked over and sat down at the bar stool in front of the island.

"I'm taking Chloe down to the park. She said that she's bored, and I have some reading to do for my English class by Monday, so this will give me some time to do it." She intelligently left out that it was 300 pages of reading, and that she hadn't even started yet. Sarah looked up at her daughter with a smile that made Emily nervous. Her mother had something up her sleeve.

"Ya know, Em, since you're taking one kid, a second definitely couldn't hurt. Ya know, give dear old mom some peace and quiet. Jack."

"Uh-uh. No way, no how. I'm not taking a five year old to the park with me. I have work to do."

"Emily please take him. He'll just play on the playground with Chloe. I have some cleaning to do around here, cause if you hadn't noticed, this place is a pig sty." Emily again refused and stood up, turning around and starting upstairs to get Chloe. Sarah smiled to herself, happy to be able to use her motherly-force. "You're taking him or none of you are going, and you'll all do the cleaning instead of me. Just be glad I'm not making you take Sean too." Emily glared in Sarah's direction for a few seconds before turning back to the stairs.

"Jack! Come down here and hurry up. I'm taking you and Chloe to the park." She yelled. He yelled back 'OK' and Emily again tossed a glare at her mother. Chloe and Jack came running down the stairs. "I'm gonna go get my keys from my…" Emily started up the stairs.

"Purse?" Chloe finished, tossing her sister the car keys. "Already got them." Emily led her two younger siblings out of the room and into the garage to leave, all the while scolding her younger sister for going in her purse, even if it was only to get keys.

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Lucy Kinkirk took a deep breath and looked to her right. She gasped loudly and put her hand over her heart, feeling it racing at a million miles an hour. She sat down on the carpet floor to keep herself from fainting. As she was setting into her thought process, she was interrupted by her 4-year-old daughter.

"Hi mommy! Whatcha doing?" She asked. Lucy jumped and looked up, startled.

"Olivia Kinkirk, you scared mommy!" She cried with a smile. Liv giggled and jumped into her mother's lap. Lucy wrapped her arms around her youngest child. Lucy's thoughts cleared from her head as she looked down into the smiling face of her daughter.

"Sorry mamma." She said. "Come with me. Come play. I'm bored and the stupid boys won't play with me and sissy is at Katelynn's house. AND I can't play with daddy cause he's getting dinner for me and the boys and Jake and you." She complained. Maddy was at her friend's house for a sleep over that night and the boys were in their room playing Lego's with their friend Jake. Lucy got up and took her little girl by the hand.

"Well we can't have my little princess being bored, now can we?" She asked. Liv shook her head with a giggle. Lucy walked with Liv out into the living room. "What should we do?" She asked. Liv smiled slyly and ran over to the cabinet by the tv. She opened it up and looked around inside for a moment. She then smiled and grabbed something. She ran back to Lucy with her arms behind her back. "What do you have there?" She asked. Liv smiled widely and revealed what she was holding: The Princess Barbie Movie: her favorite!

"Can we watch this and it will be just mommy and Livie time?" She said. Lucy smiled at her little daughter. She always cherished the time that she could spend with her only child that was not a triplet. Lucy nodded her head and took the DVD from Liv's hand. She put it on and sat down in the easy chair to watch. Liv ran over and jumped into Lucy's lap. She curled up. Lucy put her arms around her daughter's shoulders and Liv reached up to hold her mother's hands as the movie started.

"I love you mommy." Liv said snuggling deeper into her mother's embrace. Lucy's eyes filled with tears.

"I love you too angel." She said. They then continued watching the movie, not a worry in the mind of either. Even though Liv was young, she had the power to change her mother's entire mindset…well, for a few hours at least…

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Emily Camden sat down on the bench facing the playground at the park. She looked ahead of her and watched Jack and Chloe playing, Jack on the swings and Chloe on the climber. She sighed and looked down at her rather large textbook. Sadly, she picked it up and turned to page 483, starting to read the assignment. After reading for almost 15 minutes, she was just turning the page when her eyes were covered up by someone's hands and she could see nothing.

"Guess who…" Said a masculine voice. Emily's face lit up and she jumped up and turned around, taking the hands off her face.

"Justin!" She cried. She leaned in for a kiss, which she received. After she and her boyfriend separated, she sat back down on the bench and Justin did the same. He put his arm around her and she leaned into him happily. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Ally was begging me to bring her down here. Apparently her friend told her to meet her here…she wouldn't say who." He explained. Ally was his 8 year old sister "What are _you_ doing here?"

"_My_ sister was begging _me_ to bring her down." At the same time they looked up and saw Chloe and Ally standing in the sand watching them. When they saw that their older siblings had spotted them, the 8-year-olds spun around and burst into fits of giggles. They high-fived one another and Emily and Justin heard Chloe say: "Good work, Al!". The couple's jaws dropped and they looked at one another.

"So it was all a scheme, concocted by my little sister!" She cried. Justin laughed.

"I think so!" He said. "Ally!" He called. "Get your little 8-year-old butt over here!" Ally came over with a little smile on her face. "Explain please."

"Well…me and Chloe are friends, and you and Emily are…well…_friends_…and so we thought it would be fun to all be together." She said. Emily jumped into the conversation.

"And you didn't just tell us this…because?" She asked.

"It's more fun this way!" Ally said with a big smile. "Goodbye, big brother. Goodbye future sister-in-law. OH! Did _I_ say _that_?" She cried jokingly and ran back to Chloe. Emily and Justin couldn't keep themselves from laughing. They turned to one another.

"Ya know, Emily, you're 17th birthday is in 4 days." He told her. Emily smiled and pretended that she didn't know.

"Oh, it is?" She asked with a growing smile.

"It is. And I was thinking that we might go to dinner down at the little French place on 32nd and Elm to celebrate." He said, putting his arm back around his girlfriend. "What do you say…pick you up at 8 o'clock?" He asked. Emily smiled broadly.

"Sounds lovely." She said. They looked over to make sure that the girls and Jack weren't looking at them. When they saw that they weren't, they leaned in and began to kiss. After a few seconds of this, they heard the giggles of 8-year-old girls and catcalls. They separated and turned to see Chloe and Ally who were again looking at them. Justin put his hand out in their direction, motioning for them to quit it, then leaned in and began to kiss Emily again. This was turning out to be a good afternoon after all.

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A/N: I hope that you liked this…I did! : - ) Please, please review! Don't miss chapter 9: What was Lucy so shaken by at the start of section 2? Find out this and more in that chapter!! Chapter 9: Coming soon. 


	9. Excitement and Fears

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything pertaining to the WB or 7th Heaven. I only own the characters that are _not_ in the actual show. I do own the restaurant in this chapter, Jamie's Restaurant and Grill".

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A/N: Hello! Thanks for the reviews! Sorry I made you wait so long. We were out of town. Hehe. Note to thecurliegirlie: Haha! Thanks for your idea! Don't worry, there will be plenty of action. Thank you also to Shelby for her very sweet (and very, very appreciated!!) comment on my writing. To answer your question: I might write professionally as I get older just as a pas-time, but nothing too huge. : - )I hope that you enjoy this! I have been itching to write it for the last week!

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March 8

In The Days Ahead

Chapter 9: Excitement and Fears

Lucy Kinkirk looked down at her 4-year-old daughter, who was sound asleep on her lap. The video had just ended and she wanted to turn on the 6 o'clock news. She reached carefully for the remote…but not carefully enough. Liv stirred in her mother's arms and opened her blue eyes slowly.

"Mommy?" She asked quietly. Lucy looked down at the little girl. "Can you go get blankie for me?" She requested. Lucy smiled and kissed Liv on the head, telling her that she would. She stood up, carefully laying Liv back down in the chair and starting towards she and Kevin's room, where Liv had been playing earlier. Sure enough, she spotted Liv's pink felt blanket on the bed right away.

Lucy walked over and picked it up. As she did so, something, the object that she had been looking at earlier, tumbled out of the blanket and onto the bed. Suddenly, all of her thoughts and feelings from this afternoon flooded back to her. She slowly sank down onto her bed and picked it up, looking at it one more time, then dropping it back onto her bed sheets.

A smile slowly formed on Lucy's lips, and spread quickly over the rest of her face as she held back tears of joy once again. She wiped them away hastily and grabbed Liv's blanket. She stood, and with a smile on her face, took the soft blanket out to her sleepy and unsuspecting little girl.

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March 16

"_Mother!_" Rachel wined. "Why do you and dad have to go out with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lucy?" Cecilia sighed deeply and turned to face her 13-year-old daughter.

"Well, like I've told you many, many times now," She began. "they have invited your father and I, as well as the other adults in the family, to dinner at "Jamie's". They said that they have something to discuss with us." Rachel didn't look satisfied with her mother's answer.

"And_ why_ are Emily and I baby sitting all of the kids?" She complained.

"Because this is an adults-only dinner, Rachel." She explained. "And it's not only going to be you and Emily. Emily's boyfriend, Justin, is helping too. Remember?" Rachel rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Great. The make-out crew. So it won't be me baby sitting with Emily. No, it will just be me baby sitting while they make-out. Oh, joy. I can't wait!" She said sarcastically. Cecilia shook her head.

"They've promised to behave. And even if they "make-out" the entire time, all you have to do is call Aunt Sarah or Uncle Matt, who have already warned Emily that she'll be grounded if she and Justin…well…aren't helping."

"Fine." Rachel said sullenly. Cecilia laughed quietly to herself. Sometimes Rachel's theatrics were just too much. She turned to the mirror, and continued to apply her makeup as the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of Emily and Justin.

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Annie and Eric were lead to a large table in the back of "Jamie's Restaurant and Grill", where they saw that they were the last to arrive, and only minutes behind David and Marie. They took their seats at the table with the other 12 adults. Everyone had been able to make it to dinner tonight, except for Sam and Hailey. The waitress took the food and drink orders of the party, now that they had all arrived. After her parents had settled in, and the waitress had delivered the drinks, water for everyone, Lucy got everyone's attention. With Kevin holding her hand, she spoke, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Well, I'm sure that you're all wondering why Kevin and I have initiated this little gathering tonight. This is a celebration dinner, actually." She told them. "Mom, Dad, Sarah, Matt, Mary, Carlos, Simon, Cecilia, Peter, Ruthie, David, and Marie…" She took a deep breath, trying to stop her smile from taking over her entire face. "I'm pregnant!" Everyone expressed their congratulations as calmly as possible, as they were in a restaurant. They laughed as Matt lifted his water glass into the air for a toast.

"To the Kinkirks." He said happily. Everyone echoed him as they clinked their glasses together. When they were finished, Lucy opened her mouth to speak, ready to explain the details before the family had a chance to ask.

"I found out on the 8th, which is when I told Kevin." She said. "We called Doctor Michaels, like you, Mary and Cecilia, had recommended from your pregnancies. Yes, I was actually listening!" The group laughed. "Anyway, we went into the hospital the next day to have the pregnancy verified, and the test was again positive. We made an ultrasound appointment with Doctor Michaels for the 15th of March…yesterday. Yesterday we found out that I'm four months along, five on the 21st." She stopped as she was met with questioning looks.

"You only found out on the 8th though? Wouldn't you kind of…know…if you were that far along?" Cecilia asked. Lucy smiled a bit more and nodded.

"I've had a feeling since about February, but just kept blowing it off. I finally forced myself to take a test "Just-in-case" on the 8th, so that's when it actually became official. Oh, and as I'm sure you're all wondering, yes, Kevin and I _will_ be finding out the gender of the baby as soon as possible." The family was happy to hear this.

They were about to say grace, since the food had just arrived, when Sarah's cell phone rang. She reached into her bag to get it, then answered. She went outside so as to not be rude. Everyone continued talking. The chatter abruptly stopped, however, when they saw the distressed look on Sarah's face as she re-entered the building and rushed over to the table.

"Rachel's gone!" She exclaimed. "That was Emily. She and Justin were tucking in the 4 and 5-year-olds when they heard the front door shut. When they came down stairs to investigate, Rachel was gone!" Simon and Cecilia jumped up. Cecilia grabbed her purse and turned to Lucy.

"We have to go. I'm so sorry Lucy, Kevin. Your dinner is ruined!" They shook their heads and Lucy spoke.

"Go! We all need to go! Rachel is much more important than this dinner!" She exclaimed. The couples all tossed money into the center of the table for their dinner and Eric motioned for the waitress. He told her that they had to go and showed her the money for their bill, leaving her searching for words. With that, the Camdens, Ponces, Kinkirks, and Petrowskis hurried out into the night in search of Rachel, hoping for the best, but fearing the very worst.

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A/N: Please review! Where is Rachel? Find out in chapter 10, coming soon to a computer near you! (haha)


	10. Searching

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Disclaimer: You know what I'm gonna say! If not, please see chapter 9.

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I could tell you were anxious to see what happened, so of course I was not going to stand in the way of that. Thanks for the enthusiasm! Also, sorry to the readers who read the last chapter within the first few hours it was up and saw the mistakes at the end (Emily's instead of Rachel's haha!!) didn't mean to confuse you. Thanks to cnflute for giving me the heads-up about it.

A note to Alyssa:…oh goodness. Yes, mon petite chien, Je t'aime aussi. I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten me. The trip to the other house was great thanks for asking. Karaté!!!

Anyway, on with the story!

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March 16

In The Days Ahead

Chapter 10: Searching

Simon unlocked the door of he and Cecilia's home and opened it up. He rushed inside, closely followed by Cecilia and the rest of the adults from dinner. They were met by Emily and Justin. Everyone crowded into the living room to make a plan. Emily appeared to be near tears as she was comforted by Sarah, Matt, and Justin. Simon ran to the center of the living room and got everyone's attention.

"OK!" He shouted. "Here's the plan! Kevin, call Roxanne and get her down here to help." Kevin ran into the next room to call her. "Eric, Matt, Carlos, Peter, David, Kevin, Roxanne, and myself will go out to search for Rachel. We'll split into groups of 2: Eric and Matt, Carlos and Peter, David and myself, Roxanne and Kevin." The men in the group nodded. "Ladies! Sarah, Mary, Lucy, Cecilia, Ruthie, Marie: You 6 need to stay here so that if she comes home or calls, you'll be here."

"I want to go look for her too." Justin announced. Simon looked at him and smiled.

"OK Justin, thanks." He said. Justin nodded. Kevin came back into the room and announced that Roxanne was on her way. Eric and Matt, Carlos and Peter left to begin the search. It was determined that Justin would go with Kevin and Roxanne. The door slammed behind the four men as they left and the room was silent as 4 car doors shut and 2 cars started up and pulled away.

Roxanne soon arrived. She ran in without even knocking on the door. Everyone looked relieved to see her. She ran over to Kevin.

"Let's go!" She said. Kevin nodded his head. He, Justin, and Roxanne went out the door and got into the squad car, closely followed by Simon and David, in David and Marie's car. Sarah turned to Emily.

"Where are the kids she asked?" She asked her oldest daughter. There were 12 children there, but none to be seen.

"After I called you, I got the rest of them into bed…none of them know what's going on." She explained. Sarah nodded, seeming relieved. At least her children, nieces and nephews could rest easy tonight. Without warning, Cecilia burst into tears. Lucy, who was sitting closest to her, turned and wrapped her arms around her sister-in-law. Mary, Sarah, Emily, Ruthie, and Marie soon crowded around her as well, trying to make her feel better.

"She's gone." Cecilia sobbed. "My baby. What if they don't find her? What if she's hurt? Or cold? Or scared?" The other women tried to calm her, but it was of no use. She cried and cried. The phone rang, and Cecilia dove for it. "Rachel?" She answered it desperately. "Oh…hi." She sunk back down into her spot. "No, Simon's not home right now. He's…out. Your welcome…good bye." She hung up the phone. Lucy came up next to her and hugged her again. Cecilia looked as if she was about to start crying again, when she smiled. She turned to Lucy. "You've got a bump!" She said, feeling Lucy's stomach. "A little bump!" Everyone was glad to see Cecilia's mind taken off her missing daughter. Lucy nodded her head.

"Yep. I'll be 5 months in 5 days after all! It's my 5-month-bump!" She said. Smiling, she felt it too.

"Isn't this a little early to have a bump like that?" Cecilia asked. "Do you think it's twins?" She asked, with a little light in her eye. Lucy laughed loudly and shook her head.

"No! I already had my triplets." She said. "No more multiples for me! Besides, I already had my ultrasound, remember? And there was one baby's heart beat." Cecilia and Lucy laughed: a sound foreign to the fear of the night. Everyone else came over to see the effects of the new baby on Lucy's stomach, and for just a few minutes, it was as if there was nothing scary going on at all.

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Eric parked his car on the curb and he and Matt got out, each grabbing their flashlight from Eric's glove compartment [_A/N_: Also called the 'glove box'…the compartment in front of the passenger's seat]. They got onto the sidewalk and switched their lights on. The men started down the deserted street, only 8 blocks from Rachel's home. They looked up and down the street as they walked, seeing nothing but a stray cat running the opposite way that they were walking. They reached 2 side streets, facing away from one another. Eric started down one while Matt went down the other.

Matt walked down the narrow dark street. The light from his flashlight pierced the darkness around him, illuminating the small area. The dirt ground had nothing on it, other than many smashed beer bottles and cigarette butts. There were no people that he could see, and definitely no 13-year-old nieces of his. He sighed as he walked a bit further down until he reached the end of the path and was met with a concrete wall. He turned back around to see Eric standing at the opening.

"Did you find anything?" Matt called to his father half-heartily. He seriously doubted that his answer would be anything but no, but it was worth a try.

"No, did you?" Eric called back, confirming Matt's suspicions. Matt called back the same answer and met Eric back on the sidewalk. They got back in the car. As they pulled out onto the main road once again, Matt's cell phone rang. Eric and Matt looked at one another hopefully. Maybe, just maybe…

It was not Rachel, nor news of her finding, to Eric and Matt's dismay. Instead, it was Sarah, calling to see if they had found anything.

"You know we'd call you if we did." Matt told his wife. "I know. It'll be OK, Sarah. I'm sure. I love you too. I'll call if we find anything out. Bye." He hung up his phone and put it away. They drove in silence for a minute before Eric turned to his son.

"Are you _really_ sure?" He asked. Matt looked as his father, confused.

"What?" He wondered aloud.

"That it's going to be OK. Are you _really_ sure…like you told Sarah?" He asked. Matt looked at his father closely for a minute, struggling to hold his strong expression. Finally, his face changed as he broke down.

"No. I'm not sure." He said. And little did Eric know, a single tear slid down Matt's cheek, silently, slowly, sadly.

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Back at the Camden home, things had gone back to a serious mood. Lucy, who was hit with a sudden bout of nausea had run for the bathroom five minutes, and was not back yet. Annie, ever-motherly, was with Lucy, helping her by holding her hair, and understanding the horrible mix of worry and morning sickness. Mary was upstairs with Kyle, who had woken up at all the commotion. She was struggling to tuck him back in without waking the other children, or letting out what had happened. Ruthie, Marie, Emily, and Sarah were getting glasses of water for everyone, happy to be able to do something other than sit around and worry. Cecilia sat silently by the phone. Her eyes were currently dry, but her cheeks tear-stained. Everyone was so busy that no one but Cecilia heard the phone ring. One minute later, Cecilia rushed into the kitchen where Ruthie, Marie, Emily, and Sarah were. Her face was still distressed, but she looked as if she was slightly relieved. Everyone in the room looked at her as she spoke.

"They found her!"

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A/N: Please review! Where was Rachel? Is she OK? Look for chapter 11 soon!


	11. Resolution

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Disclaimer_: I do not own 7th Heaven or anything pertaining to the WB network. The only things that I do own are the characters _not_ in the show.__

A/N: As always, thank you for all of the reviews! I'm really glad that you are enjoying the plot and writing of this story.

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March 16, 3:06 AM

In The Days Ahead

Chapter 11: Resolution

"They found her!" Ruthie, Marie, Emily, and Sarah turned in silence to Cecilia. She was still on the phone. "OK…OK…hurry home. Bye." She hung up the phone and looked up at her sisters-in-law and niece. "Kevin, Roxanne, and Justin found her. They said that they would tell us more when they got home, but she is safe and well." They all looked relieved as they crowded around Cecilia to hug her. They went to the sofa and sat down silently. Emily went to go get Mary, who had fallen asleep next to Kyle. She hurried downstairs to the other women while Emily checked in on Annie and Lucy. Lucy was asleep in Annie's arms. When Emily came in, Lucy awoke. As soon as she explained what had happened, the two women hurried out to meet the rest of the group in the living room. Emily followed them.

The next 10 minutes were the slowest that the women felt they had ever endured. The other men had been contacted and were all on their way home. Matt and Eric arrived first, followed by Carlos and Peter and David and Simon. Simon hurried over and took his wife into his arms. Everyone took their seats on the sofa and chairs around the room. Finally, the door opened, and Justin, Roxanne, Kevin, and Rachel entered. As soon as Simon and Cecilia saw their daughter, they rushed forward to hug her. Kevin guided them into the living room where the family formed a large circle. Kevin and Roxanne came into the center with Rachel to explain. Rachel looked anything but happy.

"Roxanne and I were driving down 56th," Kevin began. "When we decided to stop at the promenade, where we saw Sgt. Michaels with his wife. We were going to ask if he had seen anything that could help us find Rachel." Everyone nodded, showing that they were following along with what he was saying. "We were walking to him when we spotted Rachel…Rachel, I think _you_ need to tell them what you were doing." After shooting a vicious glare at her uncle, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Mom, you _knew_ I didn't want to baby sit. I _hate_ baby sitting. I'm sick and tired of baby sitting all of the kids without even being asked if I want to! So tonight, I didn't _want_ to do it. Anna came by, picked me up, and we were _going_ to go see a movie, but _someone_" She glared again at Kevin. "Had to ruin it all." Cecilia's relief quickly turned to anger.

"You're telling me" She began, trying to keep her anger down. "That you just 'didn't feel like baby sitting' so you _left_ with out telling anyone? You _left_ with out my permission? Is _that_ what you're telling me?" Rachel nodded smugly, seeming proud of her accomplishment. Simon took Cecilia by the hand and they went into the middle of the circle where their daughter was. Kevin and Roxanne backed up to the outer edges.

"So, let's discuss what we'll be doing about this." Simon said.

"But dad…" Rachel said, looking extremely embarrassed. "Can't we talk about it in _private_?" She asked. Simon and Cecilia both shook their heads.

"No. Your Aunts and Uncles have been up all night trying to help us find you. They will be here to help us decide." Cecilia stepped in closer.

"Well, Rachel, You're grounded, obviously." She said. "And by grounded, I mean complete restriction." Rachel's jaw dropped. Simon decided to take over.

"No TV. No phone. You will be going _no where_ except for school. No friends over. No computer. No Internet, obviously. No CDs or music of any kind, mom and I will be removing your stereo, TV, and phone." He told her.

"And finally, you will be baby sitting _any_ time that we, or any of your Aunts and Uncles ask, no excuses, and it will be done for free. " Cecilia added. Rachel's hard appearance faded immediately, and she seemed to seriously be wondering _why_ she left.

"But, mom…dad…" She said quietly. Cecilia and Simon had no mercy.

"Rachel, go to your room. Your punishment isn't going to be changed. You have to take the consequences of what you did."

"How long am I on restriction for?" She asked sadly.

"Two months." Cecilia told her. Rachel looked at her parents for a moment, obviously holding back tears, then started up the stairs. They heard her door shut. Sarah came up and put her arms around Cecilia.

"It's Ok. You did the right thing." She told her reassuringly. Ruthie and Mary came over to and told her the same thing. Cecilia nodded.

"Thanks." She said. She looked up at everyone in the room. "Thank you so much." She told them. "With out you, we never would have found Rachel. And Kevin, Roxanne, Justin…"

"Your welcome." The 3 said in unison. Everyone started to leave, taking their sleeping children in their arms. David and Marie left first, closely followed by Ruthie and Peter, with Natalie and Amy. Mary and Carlos left next with little Kyle. Annie and Eric said goodbye to their son and daughter-in-law as they left. When the only adults remaining in the room were Sarah, Matt, Lucy, and Kevin, Sarah approached Cecilia again.

"If it's any consolation, Emily left the house with out telling us when she was 13 too. It gave us quite a scare. She had gone off to her friend's house. When we found her, she received the same punishment as Rachel has. It'll be Ok. You're already ahead of us. Rachel really does seem sorry. Emily wouldn't even act sorry for a week! Everything will be fine." Cecilia thanked her and they hugged. Matt and Emily got Sean, Chloe, and Jack, then met Sarah at the door. They said goodbye to Simon and Cecilia and left. Cecilia came over to Lucy and sat down.

"Lucy…I'm really, really sorry that this happened. It was supposed to be _your_ night and Rachel's ruined it."

"It's ok, really. Your daughter's safety is more important than a dinner." Cecilia smiled sadly at her sister-in-law. She reached out and put her hand on Lucy's slightly raised stomach.

"Congratulations." She told her. "Are you excited to be a mom again?" Lucy smiled.

"More excited than you could ever imagine." She said. "Kevin and I weren't exactly planning it, but it has been in the back of my mind for awhile. I'm so happy: we'll have five kids! I loved growing up as one of seven, and I want my kids to be able to experience the 'big family thing' too!" Cecilia looked at Lucy.

"Are _you_ going to have _seven_?" She asked with surprise.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe. Right now, I'm happy with this 5th that's on his or her way. We'll see what time brings." She said. They hugged briefly before Kevin came in with the triplets, who looked like zombies at this hour of the morning. They walked into the room, half-awake, next to their father, who held a sleeping Liv in his arms. They said goodbye to Simon and Cecilia and left. Cecilia turned to Simon.

"We're really lucky to have a family like this." She said with gratitude. "Who else would stay until" she looked at the clock. "Almost 4 AM to help us? And all you guys were so brave." She said. Simon laughed.

"Yep, that's me. Brave." He joked in his manliest voice. Cecilia laughed and kissed him.

"Yes, you are." He smiled and took her hand.

"If you say so. Come on. It's late…or early, I guess. We need to get to sleep. I'm sure we have a long day ahead of us." And with that, the couple walked up the stairs and into their bedroom, where they were asleep in minutes.

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_A/N_: Review please! Also, I still need ideas! They have been _very_ helpful so far! Please send any ideas you have to: camdengirlfanfic(at)aol.com (It won't let me put e-mail addresses in, explaining the (at) haha.), subject line: ITDA Story Idea. Thanks!!


	12. Caught

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Disclaimer: See other chapters if you aren't sure what I'm going to say! Haha.

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad that you liked the outcome to the Rachel mystery. Enjoy this next chapter, and please review!

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April 4

In The Days Ahead

Chapter 12: Caught

Now that Lucy was at 5 and a half months, she was developing a reasonable bump as her stomach. It was 11:21 AM, and she had a doctor appointment at noon. She hurried around her home, collecting her purse and jacket and car keys. When she had everything, she cupped her hands around her mouth and called for Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv. The four children scurried into the room. Lucy ushered them out the door and into the car. After helping Liv into her booster seat, she climbed into her own seat and put the key into the ignition.

They pulled up in front of Matt and Sarah's house just minutes later. Lucy walked the kids up to the door. Sarah welcomed her nieces and nephews into her home and shooed Lucy back to her car and on her way. She drove nervously to the doctor's office, 15 minutes away. Kevin was going to meet her there. She drove in silence all the way there. When she arrived in the parking lot, she parked and got out of her car. As she was walking to the office doors, Kevin ran over to her. She smiled widely. He was there. He took her into his arms and kissed her.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Lucy nodded happily. Kevin took her hand and they entered the building. After signing in, they took a seat in the waiting room. Kevin took his wife's hand again. He could tell that she was nervous. She smiled at him.

"So" She began, going over everything. "We're finding out if our new one is a boy or a girl." She said, putting her free hand over her stomach. Kevin nodded, smiling. Suddenly, Lucy gasped loudly, getting the attention of most in the waiting room. Kevin jumped and turned to his wife. "Kevin! We didn't decide on names!" Kevin nodded.

"We could decide after we find out the gender!" He suggested. Lucy shook her head.

"No way. We have 15 minutes till noon! Come on, we can do it!" Kevin laughed at his wife's energy, even taking care of a second life inside her. "For a boy first. What his name be?" Kevin thought for a moment.

"John?" He asked. Lucy gave him 'the look'.

"Kevin, we went over this when deciding for the boys. I can't stand that name!" Kevin laughed and nodded with a shrug. "I like: Mark, Jason, Carson, Hunter."

"Carson!" Kevin exclaimed. " I _love_ it. How about Carson Hunter Kinkirk?"

"I _love_ it." Lucy said with a smile. "Now! What about if we have another little girl? List please, like I did." Lucy always was a time-saver!

"Megan, Abigail, Paige, Faith."

"Paige." Lucy said immediately. "I really like the name Paige. How about…Paige Abigail?"

"Paige Abigail Kinkirk. I love it." He said. They kissed briefly before Kevin leaned down to Lucy's stomach. "Hello Paige or Carson! Hello Carson or Paige! Can you hear me? This is Daddy. I love you! In just a minute we'll know if you're Carson or Paige!" Lucy giggled happily. Their time was cut short when a nurse stepped into the waiting room.

"Lucy Kinkirk?" She asked. Lucy and Kevin stood and followed the nurse down the hall. After taking Lucy's weight, blood pressure, and temperature, the nurse promised that the doctor would be in soon, and left.

After waiting 5 minutes, there was a knock on the door and Doctor Michaels entered the room. She greeted them warmly, and asked Lucy a few questions such as: "How are you feeling?" "Are you having any concerns?" "Are you experiencing any morning sickness?" To which Lucy answered respectively, "I'm feeling all right, but not my best" "No" and "_YES!_ A lot!" She wrote her answers down on the paper on her clipboard.

"OK! Now you're ready for your ultrasound!" Lucy smiled excitedly as she laid down and lifted her shirt up to reveal her bare stomach. She reached out and held Kevin's hand, who was sitting next to her. She squeezed it nervously as the doctor spread the cool goop over her stomach and turned on the machine. A figure appeared on the screen in black and white. The Kinkirks smiled as the sound of the baby's heartbeat swelled throughout the room. Doctor Michaels looked carefully at the screen for a few minutes, taking some notes on her paper. Finally, she looked up at Lucy and Kevin. "Well, would you like to know the baby's gender?" She asked with a smile. Lucy looked at Kevin happily.

"Yes." They answered in unison. Lucy bit her lower lip in anticipation. Her hands were shaking, she was so excited.

"Is Carson Hunter in there, or is it Paige Abigail?" Lucy asked. Doctor Michaels laughed. She studied the screen once more, to be positive, then turned back to the couple.

"Well, in about 4 months…approximately July 21…you'll be having…" She paused dramatically. "Paige Abigail Kinkirk!" Lucy almost jumped up before she remembered that she had to be still for her ultrasound. Kevin stood and leant over to Lucy for a kiss. Lucy's smile seemed to light the entire room up. She looked down at her stomach.

"Hi Paige!"

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April 5

Emily and Justin sat at a table at the promenade, finishing their ice cream. Emily, now 17 years old, was happy to be out of her chaotic home, with her siblings and four young cousins. Emily smiled happily and Justin looked at her.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked, a smile on his face as well.

"Just thinking." She said. Her smile got bigger. Justin studied her face carefully, looking for any clues.

"Thinking about what?" He asked. She giggled happily.

"You." She said. Justin laughed and kissed her.

"I was thinking about you too." They kissed again before Justin stood up and took Emily's hand. "Are you ready to go? The movie starts in 20 minutes and we want to be able to get good seats." Emily nodded her head and they started for the theater.

When they got seated 10 minutes later, Emily reached over and took a handful of buttery popcorn from the bag on her boyfriend's lap. Soon, the lights dimmed and the commercials started. Emily leaned in for a kiss, which Justin gave her and by the time the movie had started, they weren't exactly watching. 5 minutes into the movie Emily felt something hit the back of her head. She ignored it at first, but when she kept getting hit, she had to separate her lips from Justin's.

"_Finally_!" A voice whispered behind them when they separated. Emily's eyes widened. She knew that voice. She turned around slowly and to her horror, saw her Aunt Marie and Uncle David sitting 2 rows behind she and her boyfriend. She waved timidly, then shrunk down in her seat. She grabbed her purse, whispered to Justin that she'd be right back, and took off out of the small theater. She leaned against the wall outside the door and shut her eyes. Her life was over…officially over. To her intense dismay, her Aunt Marie came out seconds later. Emily moaned. Could her night have taken a worse turn? Marie eyed her niece carefully.

"So!" She began. "You and Justin seem to be getting pretty…cozy." She said. Emily blushed deeply.

"Yeah…" She said quietly, wishing she were anywhere but here. "Aunt Marie…you can't tell my mom and dad…_please_…you can't tell them. They'll make me break up with Justin…I'll be grounded until I'm 30…I mean…have you _met_ Matt and Sarah Camden? The pastor's son and the Rabbi's daughter? I'm bound to be puritan!" Marie looked at her seriously.

"30 bucks." Marie said. At first, Emily thought her Aunt was kidding, but she saw quickly that she wasn't. Angrily, she pulled out her wallet and handed her Aunt 30 of her 34 dollars. "Thannnnk you." She said, drawing out her 'n'.

"Now, mom and dad won't find out about this, right?" Emily asked hopefully.

"Won't find out about what?" Marie asked innocently. She winked at Emily and walked back into the theater. Emily smiled to herself. Her family got stranger every day. She shook her head, and too walked back into the theater to enjoy the rest of the movie, and now, she actually watched it.

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_A/N_: Haha! Hope you liked this! Please review! 


	13. Dinner Time

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Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything pertaining to the WB! I also don't own Panda Express.

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews! A few of you questioned whether or not an aunt would really bribe like that...yes, I know from experience. LoL. Enjoy this chapter.

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April 8

In The Days Ahead

Chapter 13: Dinner Time

Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv Kinkirk played happily while Lucy watched some TV. Everything was fine until Kevin walked in the door. He walked in, sat something down on the kitchen table, and came over to his wife. He put his hands over her eyes.

"I have a surprise for you." He said. He stood Lucy up and led her to the table, eyes still covered. He uncovered them and motioned to the Panda Express food sitting there for her. "Tah dah!" Lucy took a deep breath, about to say how good it looked, when she covered her mouth and ran from the room. Kevin followed her into the bathroom where he tied her hair up while she threw up. Finally, she sat back from the toilet.

"I don't think Paige likes Chinese food." She said with a weak smile. "Why am _I_ always the one who has morning sickness through until the birth of the baby, Kevin? Everyone else gets over it after their first trimester, but no, not Lucy Kin…" She stopped and dove for the toilet again, making it just in time. When she was done, she moaned and held her stomach. Kevin wet a washcloth and laid it over her eyes. "Kevin…I don't think I'll be having the food…bit thank you! It was a sweet thought." Kevin understood. "You can have it, though." He went out to close up the food and put it in the fridge. As he was on his way back to the restroom, he saw Lucy peek out the door. "Is it gone?" She asked. Kevin told her that it was and she walked slowly into the living room. "Welcome home…how was your day?" She asked meekly.

"Good. Yours?"

"The usual…wake up…vomit…get the kids breakfast…vomit…eat a piece of toast…try _very hard_ to keep it down, today I was successful…then lunch starts, and it all happens again." She tried to smile but it didn't work. She felt horrible. Her joints hurt, she was tired, her throat was sore, and her ankles were puffing up like there was no tomorrow. She was pregnant all right.

"That's not fun." He told her. "I would give you a kiss, but…" Lucy laughed and Kevin joined it.

"Perfectly understandable." She told him. They hugged instead.

"Daddy!" Chorused 4 voices. Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv all ran out to greet their father. The triplets got their first, all wrapping themselves around his legs and leaving Liv out. After they backed up, Liv smiled and ran forward for her hug. Kevin smiled and lifted her high into the air. The giggled happily as he spun her around, her very light brown hair sticking straight out. Kevin brought her back into him and held her close.

"How's my angel?" He asked. Liv smiled. She loved it when her father called her that. It made her feel special.

"Very good." She answered. "How's my daddy?" She asked in response.

"Pretty good as well. Happier now that I'm at home. But it's mommy who's not so good." The 4 kids turned to look at Lucy.

"What's wrong, Mama?" Liv asked with concern, wriggling out of her father's arms and running to her mother's feet.

"Oh, don't worry, baby. I just have a tummy ache is all." She said. Liv looked even more worried.

"Oh no! Is baby Paige OK?" She asked in near panic. Lucy smiled and sat down in the easy chair.

"Yes, don't worry. Paige is just fine. My body just isn't used to having her in there, so it makes me feel not-so-good." Liv nodded.

"I wanna talk to baby." She said. Lucy smiled and pulled Liv onto her lap. She reclined the chair and lifted her shirt up so that the baby-bump was visible. Liv leaned forward and very carefully planted a kiss in the middle of the bump. She laid down and put her hand on it.

"Hi baby." She said quietly. "This is sissy Liv again." She had made it a habit lately to have these kinds of chats with her baby sister. "I love you. Would you please come out so I can play with you?"

"Oh, no no no." Lucy said with a half smile. "Don't you be telling her to come out yet. It's too soon. I don't want her listening to that advice!"

"Why is it too soon? I want her _now_." Liv said. Lucy kissed the top of Liv's head.

"She'll come soon enough sweetie, don't worry. If she came now, she would probably not live. She's still developing right now. Her lungs, and her bones, and her eyes, and her hands and her feet are all still forming, so when she _does_ come out, she'll have them all!" Liv nodded. She leaned back down to her mother's stomach.

"Never mind." She said. "_Don't_ come out, 'cause I want you to have your lungs and hands and stuff. If you come out, you're in big trouble, missy. Sissy Liv will be very angry with you." She looked up at her mother for approval. Lucy gave her the thumbs-up sign. Liv smiled. She kissed the bump once more, then hopped down.

The triplets came over to inspect the bump that their sister was making on Lucy's stomach as well. Each leaned over and kissed it. When they were done, Lucy smiled and pulled her shirt back down. She sat up and held out her arms for her children. The four came over and she wrapped her arms around them, kissing each on the head. Then she held out her hands.

"Mommy needs help up. It'll take some team-work. Liv, Will, take my left hand, Maddy, Luke, take my right hand." She laughed as the kids took their job very seriously. In unison, they pulled, lifting Lucy right out of her chair. Once she was standing, she held out her right hand and each of the kids high-fived her. "Great job." She told them. Kevin walked over to his wife.

"Honey, why don't you go lie down and I'll make the kids some dinner." Lucy smiled and nodded.

"OK. Thanks." She started down the hall to she and Kevin's bedroom. Behind her, she heard Kevin getting the kids to the table.

"OK, dinner! Will, Maddy, it's your night to set the table. 5 places please, mommy's not eating with us tonight. Liv, you put the ice in the cups, and Luke, you fill each of the cups. Got it?" They confirmed that they _did_ 'get it' and set to work.

"What's for dinner, dad?" Asked Will from the plate cabinet as he carefully got 3 plates for himself and 2 for Maddy to set. Kevin smiled at his son and opened the freezer to reveal a blue cardboard box. He reached in and pulled it out.

"Chicken Nuggets shaped like dinosaurs!" He announced.

"Dino nuggets!" Cried Liv. "Yummy, yummy, yummy!" Kevin smiled and winked at her. She giggled excitedly and continued filling the cups.

A bit later that night, Will, Maddy, Luke, and Liv enjoyed Dino chicken nuggets for dinner while Kevin had a piece of re-heated pizza and a salad. Lucy slept in her room all the way through dinner and dessert. Afterwards, Kevin cleaned up and tucked the kids into bed. He went into his bedroom where his wife was still sound asleep. She had her arm protectively over her stomach as she was curled on her side. Kevin smiled. He put on his pajamas and shut off the lights, quietly climbing into bed next to Lucy. He kissed her softly and fell asleep in seconds.

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A/N: Review! I hope you liked this! Don't you feel bad for Lucy? Haha, I do. Look for a new chapter soon!


	14. A Birthday Barbecue

Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything pertaining to the WB network. I also don't own Coca-cola, Pepsi, or Sprite.  
  
A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for reviewing. Sorry about the kinda long time between updates. I haven't forgotten you! I've been working every morning this week from 8-12 and then baby-sitting from 5-9 so I didn't have too much time! Random Note: Watching the Ashlee Simpson show on MTV has ruined my perception of Cecilia forever. Haha. Hope that you'll enjoy this chapter!  
  
April 18  
  
In The Days Ahead  
  
Chapter 14: A Birthday Barbecue  
  
Sarah Camden walked in the door and sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out her notebook. She smiled as she was reminded of the date, April 18, aka Sean's birthday. Today, Sean was turning 13, which was quite scary to Sarah and Matt. They had gotten through the female-teen life pretty easily with Emily. She was almost through being a teen now that she was 17. Now it was time to start all over again, and now with a male. She looked through her check list and matched each item to one in her shopping bag. 'Streamers: check. Balloons: check. Table cloth: check. Hot dog buns: check. Hot dogs: check. Hamburger buns: check. Hamburgers: check. Chips: original and barbecue: check. Cheese, ketchup, mustard: check, check, and check.' She smiled. Everything was here. Tonight, they were going to have Sean's family birthday party up at the park. His aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents were all invited to a barbecue for the celebration. Matt came into the kitchen and grabbed the bag from off the table.  
  
"OK! I'm going to leave now. It's 4:30 and we have the party set at 5:00, so I'll set up the streamers and balloons. You can get the chips and other snacks into bowls and then bring that up, as well as the hot dogs and hamburgers, and our children of course, at 4:45ish, OK?" Sarah smiled and nodded. Matt turned to the stairs. "Jack! Come on!" He called. Jack scurried down the stairs to his father. "I'm taking Jack with me to set up, so you just bring the girls and Sean." He said. Sarah nodded and they kissed. Matt grabbed his keys and the streamers and handed the bag of balloons to Jack. He pointed to the garage door and Jack ran out to the car, closely followed by his father. Before long, they were both in and buckled, and Sarah heard the garage door shut as they left. She poured the chips into 2 large bowls, and did the same with some carrots, fruit salad, and some finger foods for the younger kids. After covering each bowl with saran wrap and putting them in the trunk of the family van, she filled their red cooler with Coca-Cola, Pepsi (regular and diet), Sprite, and for the younger kids, apple juice juice boxes, and other fruity juices. After also putting that into the trunk, it was 4:45. She turned to the stairs and cupped her hands around her mouth.  
  
"Emily, Sean, Chloe, come on! It's time to leave!" She shouted. Two 'OK's' and one 'hold on' were called back. Emily and Chloe came down the stairs, then Sean a minute later, the kids got in the car, Sean claiming Emily' s front seat privileges for the day. It was a rule in the Camden family that you couldn't sit in the front seat of the car until you were 13 years old, because just in case they were in an accident, Sarah didn't want her younger children hurt, or even killed, but the airbags. Sean, all too happy to finally be a front-seat-rider, cozied up in his new seat with a smile. Emily scowled at the back of her brother's head, suddenly realizing that now she'd have to share the front seat with her younger brother. They buckled up and Sarah pulled out of the driveway.  
  
They arrived at the park 5 minutes later. Jack ran out to greet his older brother and sisters. He made Sean close his eyes as he led him to their party spot. When he said he could open them, Sean did so and smiled. There were balloons taped to the tablecloth at the edges and streamers everywhere...no doubt thanks to his little brother. He thanked Jack and sat down at the table. Chloe ran up next, with 1 bowl of chips, and the hot dogs and buns, then Emily with the other bowl of chips, and the hamburgers and buns. Matt went and helped Sarah carry over the heavy cooler. They also got the other snack bowls. They arranged the bowls of food on the table in a buffet style and sat paper plates, forks, knives, and napkins at both sides. Sarah wheeled the cooler to the end of the table. Just as she sat down, they heard approaching voices. The Camdens looked up to see The Petrowskis: Ruthie, Peter, Natalie, and Amy, approaching. Natalie and Amy ran over to greet their aunt, uncle and cousins. Ruthie and Peter came over and sat down the bag they were holding.  
  
"We brought some blankets for the kids and some of us adults to sit on. We won't always want to be on that hard bench!" Ruthie said with a smile, taking out 6 folded blankets. She spread two out on the ground, then piled the other four at the end of the table. "I'll put these here in case anyone else wants one." She said. She sat down on one of the blankets and motioned for Sarah to join her there. They hadn't seen each other in awhile, and this was good time to catch up.  
  
Before long, the rest of the family arrived. First Mary, Carlos, and Kyle, then Eric and Annie, Cecilia, Simon, Ethan and Charlie (no Rachel because of her 2 month grounding), Lucy, Kevin, Will, Luke, Maddy and Liv (not to mention Paige!), and finally David and Marie. The only ones missing were Sam and Hailey, who could not come because of Hailey's shooting schedule. Sean came over to greet everyone. The families all put their gifts down on the table, and the children went to play. Lucy grabbed one of the blankets that Ruthie had brought and spread it out on the ground by the blanket that Ruthie and Sarah were sitting on. She put down some of the kids' stuff on the new blanket, then sat down next to her sister and sister-in-law. They immediately began talking about Lucy's growing belly. In three days, she was going to be entering her 6th month, and was showing this. She layed back and put her hand over her stomach as she felt a wave of nausea hit her like a wall. Ruthie and Sarah nodded with a sympathetic smile when she explained what was going on. They knew what it was like. Annie came over and looked at her daughter with utmost sympathy.  
  
"It's not morning. It's no fair." Lucy complained. Annie laughed and nodded she put her hand on Lucy's stomach.  
  
"I know. It's never fair. But if it makes you feel any better, you feel sick because you're going to have a baby in around 3 months now, and that joy always overcomes the sick feeling you have to endure for the nine months that come before it." Lucy smiled weakly and nodded. It was hard to think about the fact that she'd have a baby in 3 months. All that said to her right now was that she'd feel like this for 3 more months: 90 days!  
  
"Paige...stop." She moaned. "Just stop. Mommy's tired of this nonsense. Can't you just give her one evening off?" The other women looked at her with suspicion.  
  
"Paige?" Annie, Sarah, and Ruthie asked in unison. Lucy sighed and shook her head with a bit of a smile. 'Well wasn't that a great was for them to find out...'  
  
"Yes." Lucy told them. "We decided to name her Paige. Paige Abigail, actually." Everyone smiled.  
  
"She?" Asked Annie. "Well this is some news! You hadn't told us, well at least your dad and I, the gender, let alone the name yet! When did you find out?" She asked.  
  
"Yeah!" Sarah and Ruthie added, showing that Lucy had not shared the news with them either. Lucy smiled.  
  
"We found out on the 4th of this month, actually. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys yet. We've been so busy!" The had just started to tell her that it was all right when Matt announced that the hot dogs and hamburgers were ready, which drew in the whole crowd...well...everyone but Lucy, that is. As soon as the smell of the hot dogs reached her nose, she excused her self hastily and made her way to the restroom. Annie smiled weakly after her daughter.  
  
"Ahh, the joys of pregnancy, huh?" She said to the other women. They laughed and agreed, and they all went over to get a bite to eat.  
  
The rest of the night was filled with fun. The family ate dinner together before Sarah brought out Sean's birthday cake, which had green frosting (Sean's favorite color) and had "Happy 13th Sean" Scrawled across it in cursive letters. It was served and enjoyed. Then came presents. He received 10 gifts: 2 from his mom, dad, and siblings, one from Mary Carlos and Kyle, one from Lucy, Kevin, Maddy, Will, Luke, Liv, and Paige, one from Simon, Cecilia, Rachel, Ethan and Charlie, one from Peter, Ruthie, Natalie, and Amy, one from David and Marie, one that was mailed to him from Sam and Hailey, and 2 from Annie and Eric. He was very excited about each of the presents, and thanked his family over and over.  
  
The children got to play for 30 more minutes before people began to leave. Once everyone was gone, Sarah, Matt, Emily, Sean, Chloe, and Jack carried things out to the car. When everything was packed and ready to go, they got in and drove home.  
  
A/N: I Hope that this chapter wasn't too boring! You have no idea the writers block that I encountered. Haha. Review, review, review! Hehe. Look for a new chapter soon. 


	15. Disaster Area

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Disclaimer: I don't own 7th Heaven or anything pertaining to the WB Network.  
  
_A/N_: I'm SO sorry that it took me so long to update. I've been having the worst writers block imaginable!   
  
To answer a few questions in reviews: 1- Yes, parents can teach at the children's schools, they just can't be their child's teacher. I know this for a fact. 2- This will be the last story in this series, but I will be writing other 7th Heaven stuff, and possibly some Friends…

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**April 22**  
  
In The Days Ahead  
  
Chapter 15: A Day at the Park  
  
17-year-old Emily Camden raced around her room, hastily trying on clothes from her dresser and closet. There was a trail of rejected clothing behind her. She added a pair of jeans to the reject trail and ran to her closet again. She grabbed a pair of pink capris and matched them with a white shirt. After looking at herself in the mirror momentarily, she ripped them off and they too fell into the growing trail. Justin had called and invited Emily to meet him at the recreation center for a swim in their heated pool, one of their favorite things to do together. She was in her bright pink bikini with small flowers and working on finding some clothes to wear over it, obviously having no luck. She went to her dresser and grabbed a pink cloth skirt, slipping it on over her bikini bottom. She looked in the mirror. Not bad! She ran to her closet and looked around in it before she found her long sleeved white mesh shirt. She put it on and spun around to face the mirror. It was perfect! A knock on her door startled her. She jumped and turned to look at the entrance to her room. Her mother had a look of utter disgust on her face…a definite bad sign.  
  
"Emily Katherine Camden!" Sarah said quietly, taking in the mess in her daughter's room slowly. She stepped inside scooting rejected clothing out of her way with her feet. Her hands met her hips and she popped one knee. "_What's_ going on here?" she asked. Emily looked around her room. She hadn't realized what a mess she was making! Her carpet floor was barely visible beneath the layer of crumpled up clothing.   
  
"I'm just getting ready to go meet Justin at the Rec. Center. We're going to swim." She said, explaining her very visible, due to her mesh top, bathing suit. Sarah looked around the room slowing before looking Emily up and down. She laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh; It was more of a 'yeah right' laugh.  
  
"First of all, you're _not_ going anywhere until this room is cleaned up! It looks like a tornado came through here! Wait no, that would still be cleaner than this…this looks like _Jack_ came through" Sarah said. It was no secret that 5-year-old Jack was _not_ a tidy person. He didn't seem to even be aware that his toys had places that they belonged, despite the many, many times Sarah had showed him. "And secondly, what are you wearing?" She practically yelled. "I don't care if you're only going to go swim, there's _no_ way your leaving this house in a mini-skirt and practically no top!"   
  
Emily sighed deeply. "Mo_ther_!" She complained, exaggerating the second syllable. "I'll clean up later! I'm already going to be late as it is, and I look fine, thank you very much." Sarah raised her eyebrows at her daughter's attitude. There was no way Emily was going to get away with it.  
  
"Why don't I re-phrase that: You _will_ clean your room, and you _will_ change or you don't go out with Justin, or anyone else, for that matter, for the next week. Got it?" She asked. Emily sighed.  
  
"Got it." She said quietly. Sarah nodded her head and turned to leave. Seconds after she was gone, Chloe ran into the room with a smug smile on her face, obviously having been listening to her mother and sister's argument. Emily glared at her little sister. "What do you want, runt?" She asked angrily. Sometimes, well, often really, she wished that she didn't have any siblings. She wouldn't have to worry about baby-sitting them, or having them embarrass her in front of friends.  
  
"_Well_, if you're going to call me names, I'll just be going. I guess you don't want any help cleaning up your room so you can meet Justin on time…" She started out of the room with a swagger. Emily sighed.  
  
"Stop." She called after Chloe, who turned around, her annoying smile growing larger. "What are you up to?" She asked suspiciously. Chloe turned around and walked back into her sister's room, carelessly kicking her clothes aside and hopping up onto her bed.  
  
"Well," She began dramatically, "I'd be happy to help you clean up your room, so you won't be late to meet Justin…" She waited a moment, then continued. "If", she uttered the dreaded word. Emily put her hands on her hip and faced her sister. "you take me with you and have Justin bring Ally." She smiled smugly once again.  
  
"No way." Emily said easily. Chloe shrugged her shoulders and hopped off the bed, making her way slowly to the door.  
  
"Guess you'll just have to be late then…I sure hope Justin doesn't think he's being stood up…then he might break up with you and, _my my_, that would be oh-so-horrible." She again shrugged her shoulders and began down the hall. Emily considered her sister's last comment for a second.  
  
"_Fine_." She yelled, sounding defeated. Chloe turned around with a smile.  
  
"Fine?" She asked, taking a few steps back towards Emily's room. Emily gave her little sister a horrible glare before responding.  
  
"_Fine_." Chloe's face brightened and she skipped back to her sister's room. She began putting the skirts and shorts away in the dresser and the shirts and pants away in the closet extremely quickly. Emily walked over to her phone and dialed Justin. She spoke to him for a few minutes and agreed to bring Ally. As soon as she hung up the phone, she turned around, seeing her room nearly spotless. Chloe was standing with her hands on her hips.   
  
"I said I'd help, not clean it all, so you have to do the last little bit." She said, motioning to the small mess on the left side of her bed. "I'm going to get my bathing suit on." With that, she skipped out of the room. Emily shook her head and cleaned up the remaining clothing. She took off and hung up her mesh top sadly and put on a long sleeved grey top instead, leaving on her pink skirt. She turned to find her sister standing in the doorway. Emily motioned for her to follow, grabbed her purse and started down the stairs.  
  
After having her mother OK her new outfit and saying that she was taking Chloe because she "thought it would be a nice thing to do", the girls got into Emily's car and started for the recreation center, where Justin and Ally were awaiting them.

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_A/N_: Again, SO sorry for the long update. Please review! 


	16. The Grand Finale!

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Disclaimer: See other chapters.

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A/N: This will be the last chapter in this story, and in this trilogy! The main reason that I'm ending it so quickly is because I'll be going out of town for a few weeks! I really do hope that you enjoy this final chapter. Please review!

Since this is the last chapter, every family will be covered, some more than others. Hehe.

July 17 (3 months after our last chapter took place.)

In The Days Ahead

Chapter 16: The Grand Finale

Emily Camden walked over to her phone. Her mother had just called up to tell her that the call was for her. She reached out and lifted it to her ear. "Hello?" She asked sweetly. Her jaw practically hit the floor when she heard who it was and what they were calling about. She began to jump up and down. "Really?! She squealed excitedly. "No way! No way, no way, _no way_! This is _so_ awesome!" She squealed again and sat down on her bed. "Thank you so much! OK. Yeah. Sounds great! I'll call Justin right now! Love you too. Bye." She said, hanging up the phone. As it hit the base, she screamed loudly, and was immediately shushed by Sean and Chloe. She rolled her eyes and picked the phone up, this time dialing up her boyfriend. "Justin? It's Em. _Guess what!_"

* * *

4-year-old Kyle Ponce giggled happily as bubbles cascaded down the water falling into his filling bathtub. Mary smiled at her son as she closed to lid to the bubble bath and put them aside. Kyle, with a large smile on his young face, was taking handfuls of bubbles and carefully stacking them high. Suddenly he got a strange look on his face. He backed up a bit and shut his eyes. An explosive sneeze and a sad moan were heard throughout the small bathroom as Kyle's bubble-tower fell magnificently. He looked at his mother with disappointed eyes and she couldn't help but smile. She reached forward and tousled his dark-blonde hair.

"Don't worry." She told him soothingly. "We need to wash your hair now anyway." She grabbed the plastic cup from the side of the tub, and after filling it with water, poured it over her son's hair. She got the 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner from the cabinet next to her and worked it through his hair. Kyle laughed again when she poured more water over his head and all the bubbles flowed down over his neck and back. Mary handed him his favorite bath toy: his rubber duck. He took it and immediately tossed it into the water, seeing how long it took for the small duck to recover, getting straight again. After taking only 6 seconds, he decided to try again, laughing more and more each time as the duck swirled around trying to get balanced. He took some of the bubbles from his tub and smeared them on the plastic duck's head, then proudly showed the toy's new-do to his mother. She laughed and nodded her approval. This was where she loved to be.

* * *

Due in four days, Lucy Kinkirk's stomach was huge. She mumbled angrily as she tried unsuccessfully for the third time to get through she and Kevin's closet door. Ever since the fifth month of her pregnancy with Paige, this door, as well as the other ones in the home, seemed to be getting smaller and smaller by the day. Because of the fact that their clothes hamper was stationed in the right side of the already small doorway, you were forced to turn to the side to enter the closet. After trying a fourth time, with which she had no luck, she shouted angrily and pushed the clothes hamper down scattering the clothing everywhere. She triumphantly walked, facing straight, through the door and hung up her shirt. After doing so, she walked over to the hamper and clothing and bent down to clean up. Her hands made it to about 3 feet above the ground when she stopped, unable to get down any further. She muttered under her breath and stood back up.

"Will, Maddy, Luke, Liv, come here please!" She yelled. Liv came first, then Maddy, and finally Will and Luke. They took in the scene slowly and Liv began to laugh. After laughing for a few minutes, Lucy looked at her daughter, un-amused. "What, exactly, is _so_ funny?" She asked. Liv caught her breath then looked back up at her mother.

"Did you did your giant basketball Paige tummy knock over the hamper?" She asked, again dissolving into a fit of giggles. Lucy glared at her almost-5-year-old, truly not appreciating the last comment. She was about to tell Paige what had _really_ happened when she realized that the child would find the true story just as funny, if not funnier, than what she was already laughing at.

"No, it didn't." She said, not explaining anything else. "Now would you for please help mommy by standing the hamper up and tossing the clothes back in. The kids did as they were told, doing so quickly between the four of them. She high-fived each and after thanking them, sent them on their ways. After they were gone, she turned to shut off the closet light and accidentally kicked over the hamper again. She froze, looking at it in utter disgust. Finally she stood up and stormed out of the room, choosing to ignore the new mess.

* * *

13-year-old Rachel Camden was happy to finally not be grounded any more. She walked proudly down the stairs and towards the front door. As she touched the handle and began to turn it, she heard her mother's voice calling after her from the kitchen. She sighed and turned around to face her mother, who could be seen through the window facing out of the kitchen towards the door. Sometimes she really hated that window…

"Rachel, you can't go out right now honey, I'm sorry. Your dad and I are going out this evening and I need you to watch Ethan and Charlie." Rachel groaned. There was nothing she hated more than staying home all night her 9 and 6-year-old brothers. She angrily walked over to the sofa and flopped down, switching on the TV and folding her arms over her chest. She smiled as Friends came on, her favorite show. Maybe this night wasn't going to be so bad after all.

* * *

Natalie Petrowski ran down the hall to her sister's, younger by one year, room. Amy was sitting on the floor looking at her new necklace when her 6-year-old sister entered. She looked up and smiled at her, happy to have something new to do. Natalie walked over to her sister.

"Hey Amy?" She asked sweetly. "Will you come play dolly-house with me?" Amy nodded and stood up happily. She had been getting bored, and she loved to play with her sister whom she idolized. The girls stood up and they ran back down the hall to Natalie's room where they began to play with the doll-house happily.

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David Camden was standing in his and Marie's kitchen making himself a sandwich when his wife dashed in the door.

"Hey!" He greeted her. She didn't even stop to look at him as she dashed to the restroom. He looked after her. "OK…or not…" He said to himself, turning back to his sandwich and taking a big bite. He took his plate over to the table. 5 minutes later, as he was just finishing off his delicious sandwich when Marie walked out into the kitchen looking nauseated. She walked over to the table in a daze and sat down opposite her husband. He looked at her with concern. She wouldn't look at him. Something was definitely up. After begging for quite a few minutes, she finally looked up and met her husband's eyes.

"Dave…I'm…I'm pregnant."

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July 20

Emily Camden carefully fixed her baby pink satin gown. Her hair was up in a bun, curled tightly. She looked absolutely stunning. Justin walked through her bedroom door, looking equally fabulous in his black tux. He held his hand out to his girlfriend. She smiled widely and took it and they made their way down the stairs and to the front door. When Justin opened the door for her, she gasped happily, seeing the white limo sitting outside her home that her Aunt had sent for she and Justin. The driver got out of the car as they neared it and held the door for them. As they got settled, Emily saw a note written on white paper, taped to the wall opposite her. She pulled it off carefully and read it.

Emily,

I'm so excited to be able to have Justin and yourself at the Jamestown premiere! I can't think of anyone else who I'd rather have there with me. Look in the cooler under this note: You'll find some sparkling cider. Use the glasses on the wall to drink from. I can't wait to see you later. Enjoy your ride in this awesome car (my favorite of the studio's limo selection), and your trip down the VIP carpet into the show! I love you.

Aunt Hailey

She passed the note to Justin. After he read it they opened the cider and enjoyed a few glasses each. They were just finishing their second glasses when the limo pulled to a stop. They looked out the window and saw that they were ready to step out onto the red carpet that stretched into the huge theater. The driver opened the door and they got out hand in hand, beginning to make their way down the star-studded path. There was only one thing that this evening needed to be complete. As she and Justin walked, she looked around, and finally she saw him. She jumped up and leaned over to Jusin, squealing.

"Look! Right there! It's Brad Pitt…"

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The End!

A/N: I hope that you enjoyed Ready For Tomorrow, Still Going Strong, and In The Days Ahead. Please review! Look for another story by myself, CamdenGirl4Ever, soon!


	17. The Last Epilogue

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Epilogue

Emily and Justin had the time of their lives at the Jamestown premiere, and Emily was ecstatic to be introduced to Brad Pitt himself after the show, and even getting a hug from him. All of her friends are beyond jealous. The Camden family is continuing to grow up. Emily is now 20 and living in an apartment downtown by her college. She and Justin are engaged as of two nights ago, but are not planning on getting married until nest year. Sean is 16 and enjoying teen life. His girlfriend, Jenna, and he have been dating for 6 months. Chloe is 12 and in her first year of middle school. Jack just turned 9. Everyone is enjoying watching he and his siblings grow up!

Kyle is now 8 and Mary and Carlos are braving the world of parenting an older child. They aren't going to have any other children, as they are enjoying being able to focus all of their attention on Kyle. He will be 9 in 5 months and is already counting down the days.

Lucy went into labor 6 minutes after knocking down the clothing hamper for the second time. She and Kevin hurried to the hospital and dropped Will, Luke, Maddy, and Liv off at Annie and Eric's house. Now that they have six children, they are happy with their family number, and have decided to not have any more children. Will, Luke, and Maddy are now 11, and in the 6th grade, Liv just turned 8 and is in 3rd grade, Paige is 3 and their newest and last addition to the family, Thomas, will be turning one tomorrow.

Rachel is now 16 and very glad to be able to date, unlike she was at age 13 during our story. Ethan is 12 and Charlie 9. Simon and Cecilia are loving watching their kids grow up more than anything and can't wait to see what is coming next.

Natalie is now 9 and Amy 8. They still love to play together but are also making their own other friends. Natalie is in the 4th grade and Amy in the 3rd. They love being in "big girl grades" and are looking forward to Natalie's 10th birthday in 3 months, and Amy's 9th birthday in 7 months.

What began as a horrible shock to David and Marie turned out to be an amazing blessing. When Marie had her pregnancy confirmed, she and David sat down and had to decide what to do. Since they had not been planning of having children at all, they had a lot of decisions to make. The plot continued to thicken when in her 6th month of pregnancy, Marie found out that she'd be having twins: 2 boys. She had decided to work up until her 8th month of pregnancy, but when it became high risk in her 7th, she was forced to go on Maternity leave. 2 months later, on her exact due date, Marie gave birth to Xavier Keegan and Griffin Elijah Camden in the same hospital where she worked, and one of her best friends, a maternity nurse, even got to deliver the babies. Xavier and Griffin are now 3 years old. Marie has been lucky to be able to work a part time schedule at the hospital, working on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 am to 4 pm, and being left with the other days and hours to spend with the boys. Despite their original plan, David and Marie are truly enjoying being parents and have decided to have more. Marie is expecting their 3rd child, another boy, next month. He will be named Anthony Kai. The couple are excited to see how Xavier and Griffin react to Anthony coming home. They have been extremely excited, and have loved helping their mom and dad get his room all ready.

Hailey is still an actress and is currently working with Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones. She's ecstatic to be working with such well known actresses. She and Sam are enjoying their current states in their lives and are not planning on having children for a few more years.


End file.
